PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. — A Nigerian national is headed to prison after pleading guilty in what Palm Beach County investigators call a "complex" mail fraud and identity theft scheme.
The Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office said that Uwa Nosakhare was sentenced to six years in prison, three years supervised release and restitution after pleading guilty to federal charges on March 27.
The sheriff's office said they worked with the Boca Raton Police Department and federal agencies to resolve the case, which involved "the impersonation of property owners and the fraudulent negotiation of vacant lot properties."
The case spanned from April 2022 to April 2023, which included two attempts and one successful negotiation of properties in the city of Lake Worth Beach.
The sheriff's office said multiple properties in Palm Beach County were targeted by impersonators using sophisticated fraudulent documents, including altered driver’s licenses to mimic real owners' personal identifiable information (PII).
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The documents featured consistent backgrounds and were used in both Lake Worth Beach and Boca Raton, according to investigators.
The sheriff's office said a key breakthrough in the case came when they processed physical closing documents, revealing prints that led to them identifying Nosakhare.
Officials said the Nigerian national was spotted on video surveillance at various FedEx locations sending fraudulent closing documents.
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"Further investigation uncovered that the successful negotiation proceeds, which totaled $143,060.86, were received by a co-conspirator, who quickly transferred these funds through various means, including international money transfers and cryptocurrency exchanges," the sheriff's office said in a statement.
The case was referred to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), which led to a grand jury indictment last July.
Nosakhare was later apprehended by Homeland Security Investigations in October while attempting to flee to Canada, the sheriff's office said.
After completing his prison sentence, PBSO said he will have to surrender to immigration officials for removal from the United States.
