NC man ordered to pay $22M in restitution for attorney collection scheme

RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — A North Carolina man has been ordered to more than $22 million in restitution following his conviction in what prosecutors are calling an attorney collection scheme.

In Sept. 2023, 49-year-old Omoyoma Christopher Okoro was found guilty of conspiracy to commit wire fraud affecting a financial institution, mail fraud affecting a financial institution, and bank fraud. In addition, he was also charged with two counts of wire fraud affecting a financial institution, one count of mail fraud affecting a financial institution, and one count of bank fraud.

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The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced Okoro has now been sentenced to 100 months in prison, followed by five years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $22.57 million in restitution.

Okoro, a naturalized U.S. citizen of Nigerian origin, resided in Nigeria before moving to the United States around 2013. Between 2006 and 2010, Okoro conspired with others to defraud attorneys located in the U.S. through what became known as the “attorney collection scheme”.

Through this scheme, attorneys in the United States were contacted by a prospective “client” in a foreign country who purported to be in need in legal representation. The client would typically claim to be owed money from someone in the U.S. resulting from a business transaction, settlement from a dispute, or an accident.

If an attorney responded to the initial inquiry, the attorney would then be told by the scammers that the other party had agreed to settle the matter and was prepared to make a payment. The attorney would receive a counterfeit check with instructions to deposit the check into their law firm escrow account. Attorneys would be told to keep a portion of the funds as payment for services and wire the balance to a foreign bank account, typically located in an East Asian country.

Once funds reached the foreign bank account, they were immediately withdrawn by a member of the conspiracy, generally before the attorney victim realize the check was counterfeit. The attorney and the attorney’s bank would then be left responsible for the loss.

The evidence at trial showed Okoro communicating with numerous other members of the conspiracy. Prosecutors said Okoro was either the sender or recipient of emails confirming an attorney victim had wired funds to a foreign bank account. In addition, evidence at trial showed funds flowing back to Okoro from coconspirators located in the area of Toronto, where several key members of the conspiracy resided.

In total, it is believed that more than $23 million in fraudulent proceeds were actually obtained through the attorney collection scheme and more than $80 million in attempted fraud occurred.

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