Nigerian athlete faces 20 years jail term in U.S. over alleged fraud

Nigerian long jumper, Mercy Abire, may face up to 20 years in prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering in the United States.

According to reports, the 28-year-old athlete, alongside Nigeria’s former men’s 100m champion, Raymond Ekevwo and Aniekeme Etim, utilised various fraudulent schemes between 2018 and 2022 to defraud unsuspecting victims.

From the court documents presented during the trial, the trio masterminded online romance scams, online charity scams and other deceptive tactics, which generated substantial sums of money. The ill-gotten gains were then transferred among the conspirators, with a considerable portion of the funds being sent overseas.

Notably, Abire was said to have transferred over $100,000 to her co-conspirators through her U.S. bank account from November 2018 to April 2019. This substantial involvement in the financial dealings led to her being implicated in the money laundering operation.

U.S. Attorney, Darren LaMarca, who oversaw the case, revealed that the FBI conducted a thorough investigation into the matter.

Following her plea, Mercy Abire is scheduled to be sentenced on August 30, 2023, and she now faces a maximum sentence of 20 years imprisonment. The final decision rests with a Federal District judge, who will consider the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors in determining her fate.

An official of the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN), told The Guardian, yesterday, in a telephone conversation that they won’t comment on the issue. He, however, added: “Abire competed for Nigeria a long time ago when she was a junior athlete. We don’t know what led her into trouble in the U.S. and we don’t have anything to say about it.”

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