A Lehigh County man has pled guilty to an elaborate wire fraud scheme that swindled nearly $2 million from unsuspecting individuals and businesses, United States Attorney David Metcalf announced. The man, identified as Chinedu Ekuma, age 45 of Catasauqua, Pennsylvania entered his plea in front of U.S. District Judge John M. Gallagher.
In the wake of the plea, court documents revealed that from about August 2020 through March 2023, Ekuma orchestrated a fraud strategy involving false claims and promises to secure money and assets from victims. Ekuma, at the helm of Intelaris Solutions, LLC and Verge Capital, fraudulently directed payments into bank accounts linked to these entities, under the guise they were for legitimate business transactions. The justice department’s press release, dated November 18, noted that Ekuma’s accounts were confirmed to be the endpoint of the fraudulent activities, many of which were disguised by fraudulent documentation crafted to support his claims.
The fraudulent operation proved to be fairly extensive, with Ekuma and his unnamed accomplices funneling more than $1.75 million into the Intelaris Solutions and Verge Capital accounts from those they deceived. Furthermore, attempts were made to extract an additional $650,000 from others. The case, revealing the layers of deception crafted by Ekuma, was thoroughly investigated by FBI Philadelphia’s Allentown Resident Agency, the Department of Justice detailed in their report…