The Brief
- A federal jury found a Douglasville man guilty in an Atlanta money laundering conviction involving more than $2.7 million stolen from elderly scam victims.
- Investigators said the fraud ring targeted seniors through online romance and business scams between April 2020 and September 2021.
- The defendant continued to launder victim money while out on bond awaiting trial until a judge revoked his release in March.
ATLANTA – Federal authorities in Atlanta secured a trial conviction against a 41-year-old Douglasville man for his role in a transnational scam that laundered $2.7 million from elderly victims.
Atlanta money laundering conviction
What we know:
A federal jury convicted 41-year-old Babajide Adesayo of Douglasville on Thursday following an eight-day trial. Jurors found him guilty of two counts of conspiracy to commit money laundering and 16 counts of transactional money laundering.
Federal prosecutors said Adesayo belonged to an international network that tricked elderly victims into sending their retirement savings to business accounts owned by co-defendant Efemena Igbe, a Nigerian national. Igbe transferred the cash to Adesayo under false claims that the funds were for buying cars from Adesayo’s automotive business. Adesayo then wired the money to foreign accounts in China, Hong Kong and Nigeria.
Federal online fraud scheme
The backstory:…