AUSTIN, Texas – A Nigerian national residing in Canada and a Dallas woman operating a marketing leads business were sentenced in Austin on Thursday for their roles in a fraudulent “sweepstakes” scheme that sent more than $250 million in counterfeit checks with fraudulent lottery award letters to elderly U.S. victims.
Tony Akinbobola, 52, of Toronto, Ontario, was sentenced to 78 months in prison for conspiracy to commit money laundering. According to court documents, Akinbobola laundered money for the scheme beginning in 2015, receiving fraudulently obtained funds by way of wire transfers and money orders from the U.S., which he would deposit into a Canadian bank account in the name of his business. Investigators have identified at least 300 victims, all over the age of 60, sustaining a total of more than $1 million in actual losses with intended losses of more than $9.5 million. Akinbobola was arrested in Canada on Jan. 20, 2022 and was transferred to federal custody on Feb. 11, 2022, where he has remained since. He pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering on Sept. 30, 2022. In addition to spending more than six years in federal prison, Akinbobola was ordered to pay $111,870.25 in restitution.
Donna Lundy, 64, of Dallas, was sentenced to 30 months and ordered to pay $111,870.25 in restitution for wire fraud. Lundy owned and operated a lead broker business near Dallas, through which she purchased people’s names and…
