BISMARCK, N.D. (KFGO) – A federal judge has sentenced a man from Nigeria to nearly 12 years in prison in a scheme that cost a Bismarck law firm nearly $200,000.
US Attorney Mac Schneider says between November and December 2020, the man and others took part in a sophisticated scheme where they falsely claimed to be a business owner in a legal dispute with a Bismarck company and created a fake attorney-client relationship.
The law firm received what turned out to be a fraudulent check and then sent a nearly $199,000 wire transfer to the man’s business partner. As part of the sentence, Judge Daniel Traynor ordered restitution of almost $189,000 to the law firm. The man was extradited from the United Kingdom and was convicted after a four-day trial in May.
The FBI led the investigation.
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