A man who authorities say played a key role in a multimillion-dollar mortgage fraud scheme in Florida was arraigned on Tuesday morning after he was extradited to the U.S. from Nigeria.
Okechukwu Josiah Odunna, a resident of Abuja, Nigeria, was charged with wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud affecting a financial institution, for his alleged role in an $8 million plot that involved 20 residential properties in Florida, including homes in Miami Shores and North Miami Beach, court records show. Each count carries up to a 30-year prison sentence. Others involved included former North Miami Mayor Marie Lucie Tondreau.
Between 2005 and 2008, Odunna, then a licensed attorney, and his co-conspirators allegedly submitted fraudulent loan applications to banks and other financial institutions that resulted in lenders handing out more money than they otherwise would, according to the United States Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of Florida. The applications included fake names of borrowers, inflated sale prices and false information about the funds.
Odunna was a settlement agent in about 20 allegedly fraudulent closings. The properties included the homes at 9906 North Miami Avenue in Miami Shores, 216 Northwest 100th Street in unincorporated Miami-Dade County, and 16325 Northeast Sixth Avenue in North Miami Beach, according to the indictment.
The indictment was filed in 2014, but Odunna was only arrested a decade later, in September of last year, by Nigerian authorities. He was transported to the U.S. last week and had his first appearance before a judge on March 6.
The alleged scheme also involved Karl Oreste, Tondreau and Kelly Augustin. Oreste was sentenced to more than eight years in prison, but granted a compassionate release in 2020. He owes over $8 million in restitution. Tondreau, the former mayor, was convicted by a jury trial in late 2014 and sentenced to more than five years in prison. She recruited straw buyers for the deals alongside Agustin, according to the indictment. Augustin is still a fugitive.
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