A Guy Was Sentenced in Prison for His Role in a Fraud Scheme Involving Church Funds

LAS VEGAS – A Las Vegas man was sentenced to more than three years in jail for his role in a scheme to steal money from church members’ accounts.

According to a press release from the US Attorney’s Office, Oluremi Akinleye, 42, pled guilty in June to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, possession of 15 or more counterfeit and unauthorized access devices, and aggravated identity theft.

According to court documents, between November 2017 and July 2018, Akinleye and his co-conspirators planned to steal money from pension accounts owned by members of the Christian Church Pension Fund and the Lutheran Church Extension Fund by impersonating those members.

The funds provide pension and retirement schemes for religious community members, including preachers.

As part of the conspiracy, Akinleye and his co-conspirators collected account holders’ names and personal identifying information and then used that information to make withdrawals and transfers from victim accounts to accounts controlled by the conspirators.

As a result of the conspiracy, Akinleye and his co-conspirators attempted to obtain almost $400,000 from the two funds falsely.

Credits: 8 News Now