Obinwanne Okeke, Nigerian businessman, also popularly known as Invictus Obi, has returned to Nigeria’s social circles, after being deported from the U.S. after serving a six-year jail term.
Decked in a black tuxedo, he was seen mingling with the society big wigs at the 40th birthday bash of Francis Udochukwu Nwaogwugu, an entrepreneur and real estate developer who is also known as Vintage.
Okeke waltzed the event’s black carpet with a bow tie and fancy see-through glasses.
The birthday bash was on Saturday.
Recall that Okeke was sentenced to 10 years in prison in February 2021 after pleading guilty to his involvement in a multimillion-dollar business email compromise scheme that defrauded companies of more than $11 million.
Under the original sentence, he was expected to remain behind bars until September 3, 2028.
His reported release, therefore, has raised questions about what led to his early exit from federal custody.
The businessman was arrested in August 2019 by agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) at Dulles International Airport in Virginia
He was taken into custody while attempting to leave the United States.
Court documents revealed that Okeke and his co-conspirators used phishing attacks, compromised email accounts and fake wire transfer requests to carry out the fraud.
One of the schemes targeted Unatrac, where an executive reportedly fell victim to a phishing email in April 2018.
The attack gave the conspirators access to the executive’s sensitive login credentials.
With control of the compromised account, the group allegedly sent fraudulent wire-transfer instructions backed by fake invoices.
The money was then redirected into bank accounts controlled by members of the syndicate.
The elaborate operation ultimately resulted in losses running into millions of dollars and became one of the major fraud cases involving a Nigerian businessman in the United States.
