Two former William Carey athletes have been convicted for transferring thousands of dollars to Nigeria as part of a complex fraud scheme.
Per court documents, Emmanuel Ineh, 23, and Toluwani Adebakin, 25, pleaded guilty to violations of U.S. codes for collectively sending tens of thousands of illicitly obtained funds to fraudsters in Nigeria for a larger mail fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering conspiracy.
The scheme involved track and field athletes from multiple higher learning institutions in the United States, with part of the conspiracy being operated out of Hattiesburg while Ineh and Adebakin were Track and Field teammates at William Carey University before transferring to Alabama and South Florida, respectively.
William Carey University was cooperative throughout the investigation.
Both defendants are scheduled to be sentenced on February 15, 2023 in Hattiesburg. Each faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. A federal district judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew W. Eichner.
