US v Okpe et al

Released Date	Case Name	Summary
01/23/2023	68	ORDER as to Johnson Uke Obogo. The Court has received and considered the Probation Officer's request to continue sentencing. As the court understands it, probation has not yet received information necessary for the preparation of a draft Presentence Investigation Report (PSIR). In response, the defendant apparently agrees to waive time to present the PSIR to the client. It is, however, not meaningful to waive that time absent a completed report. Therefore, IT IS ORDERED granting the continuance, subject to any further objections the defense may have about the legitimacy of reasons for the delay. Sentencing is RESET from 2/13/2023 to 3/20/2023 at 3:30 PM in Courtroom 602, 401 West Washington Street, Phoenix, AZ 85003 before Chief Judge G Murray Snow.. Enetered by Chief Judge G Murray Snow on 1/23/2023. This is a TEXT ENTRY ONLY. There is no PDF document associated with this entry. (KFZ) (Entered: 01/23/2023)
12/14/2022	67	MINUTE ORDER as to Solomon Ekunke Okpe. Sentencing RESET from 3/20/2023 to 3/27/2023 at 9:30 AM in Courtroom 602, 401 West Washington Street, Phoenix, AZ 85003 before Chief Judge G Murray Snow. This is a TEXT ENTRY ONLY. There is no PDF document associated with this entry. (KFZ) (Entered: 12/14/2022)
12/13/2022	64	MINUTE ENTRY for proceedings held before Magistrate Judge John Z Boyle: Change of Plea Hearing as to Solomon Ekunke Okpe held on 12/13/2022. Defendant enters a plea of guilty as to Counts 1 and 17 of the Indictment. THE COURT ORDERS the trial date/pending hearings VACATED. Pending motions are rendered moot. Prior custody orders are AFFIRMED. The Court directs the US Probation Office to prepare a Presentence Report. Appearances: AUSA Seth Goertz for the Government, AFPD Zachary Cain for Defendant. Defendant is present and in custody. Sentencing set for 3/20/2023 at 09:30 AM in Courtroom 602, 401 West Washington Street, Phoenix, AZ 85003 before Chief Judge G Murray Snow. (Recorded by COURTSMART.) Hearing held 10:04 AM to 10:31 AM. This is a TEXT ENTRY ONLY. There is no PDF document associated with this entry. (KGM) (Entered: 12/13/2022)
12/08/2022	60	MINUTE ENTRY for proceedings held before Magistrate Judge John Z Boyle: Change of Plea Hearing as to Johnson Uke Obogo held on 12/8/2022. Defendant enters a plea of guilty as to the Information. THE COURT ORDERS the trial date VACATED. Pending motions are rendered moot. Prior custody orders are AFFIRMED. The Court directs the US Probation Office to prepare a Presentence Report. Appearances: AUSA Seth Goertz for the Government and retained attorney Ashley Adams for defendant. Defendant is present and in custody. Sentencing set for 2/13/2023 at 10:00 AM in Courtroom 602, 401 West Washington Street, Phoenix, AZ 85003 before Chief Judge G Murray Snow. (Recorded by COURTSMART) Hearing held 10:31 AM to 11:01 AM. This is a TEXT ENTRY ONLY. There is no PDF document associated with this entry. (AO) (Entered: 12/08/2022)
07/14/2022	42	ORDER OF DETENTION as to Johnson Uke Obogo. Signed by Magistrate Judge Michelle H Burns on 7/14/2022.(KGM) (Entered: 07/14/2022)
07/13/2022		Arrest of Johnson Uke Obogo on 7/13/2022. (KGM) (Entered: 07/14/2022)
01/24/2022	28	ORDER OF DETENTION as to Solomon Ekunke Okpe. Signed by Magistrate Judge Michael T Morrissey on 1/24/2022. (CIS) (Entered: 01/24/2022)
01/06/2022		Arrest of Solomon Ekunke Okpe on 1/6/2022. (CIS) (Entered: 01/10/2022)
02/06/2019	3	INDICTMENT (Redacted for Public Disclosure) as to Solomon Ekunke Okpe (1) count(s) 1, 2, 3, 4-16, 17-28, Michael Eromosele (2) count(s) 1, 2, 3, 4-14, 17-26, Augustine Ebiwolate Kemih (3) count(s) 1, 2, 3, 29, Abiodun Egbemonume Alphonsus (4) count(s) 1, 2, 3, Johnson Uke Obogo (5) count(s) 1, 2, 3, Kingsley Aduile Emenike (6) count(s) 1, 2, 3, 29. And forfeiture allegations. (SLQ) (Entered: 02/07/2019)
		Solomon Ekunke Okpe and Johnson Uke Obogo were involved in a variety of cyber-enabled fraud schemes between December 2011 and January 2017. Okpe and his co-conspirators’ fraud scheme included business email compromise (BEC), work-from-home, romance, check-fraud, and credit card scams that targeted unsuspecting victims around the world. In the BEC schemes, Okpe and co-conspirators hacked into victims’ email accounts. After gaining access to a victim’s account, they would send emails to employees of companies doing business with the victim, directing those employees to transfer money to conspirator-controlled bank accounts. In the “work-from-home” scams, Okpe, Obogo, and others falsely posed as online employers on job websites and forums under fictitious online personas, and pretended to “hire” large numbers of individuals around the United States. A number of victims have been identified by the FBI. However, there is evidence of many more victims that remain unidentified. Anyone who believes they were defrauded by the defendants in this case should contact the Victim Witness Section at the United States Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona at usaaz.victimassist@usdoj.gov

Updated February 6, 2023