Obinwanne Okeke to get treated for ‘fraud mentality and drug abuse’

Obinwanne Okeke, embattled and convicted Nigerian fraudster, has been scheduled to undergo treatment for ‘fraud mentality and drug abuse’.

Rebecca Smith, a judge of an Eastern District court of Virginia, had ordered that the Nigerian man who was listed on the Forbes 30 under 30 category for his business exploits and wealth, be incarcerated in a medical facility where he would be subjected to ”full medical and mental health evaluation and treatment”.

According to Premium Times, the evaluation cum treatment is part of the rehabilitation process to reform his conduct before he completes his jail term and is reintegrated into the society.

Judge Smith, in her recommendations to the Bureau of Prisons said;

“The defendant be incarcerated in the facility at the Federal Medical Centre at Butner, North Carolina or a similar medical facility.

“The defendant shall undergo a full mental health evaluation and receive all appropriate mental health treatment and counselling, in particular for his fraud mentality.

“He shall receive a full medical evaluation and shall receive all appropriate medical treatment for any conditions he may have.”

On drug abuse, she ordered that “the defendant shall undergo a substance abuse evaluation and receive all appropriate substance abuse treatment and counselling.”

From 2015 to 2019, Okeke and others engaged in a conspiracy to conduct various computer-based frauds. The conspirators obtained and compiled the credentials of hundreds of victims, including victims in the Eastern District of Virginia.

As part of the scheme, Okeke and other conspirators engaged in an email compromise scheme targeting Unatrac Holding Limited, the export sales office for Caterpillar heavy industrial and farm equipment.

In April 2018, one Unatrac executive fell prey to a phishing email that allowed conspirators to capture login credentials. The conspirators sent fraudulent wire transfer requests and attached fake invoices. Okeke participated in the effort to victimise Unatrac through fraudulent wire transfers totaling nearly $11m which was transferred overseas.

Additionally, Okeke engaged in other forms of cyberfraud, including sending phishing emails to capture email credentials, creating fraudulent web pages, and causing other losses to numerous victims.

Okeke was born November 9, 1987 in Ukpor, Nnewi South LGA of Anambra State, Nigeria. He is the 17th child of a polygamous father.

He claimed that he was inspired by the desire to lift his mother, who was his father’s fourth wife, from extreme poverty. In a feature in BBC Focus on Africa, Okeke said that while just sixteen years old and still living in the village, he started an IT company that printed business cards and created websites.

With his first profits, he bought what was the finest bicycle in his village. He also told the BBC that he had an interest in criminology.