Man gets prison time for attorney-fraud scheme that targeted some BigLaw firms
A North Carolina man convicted in an attorney-fraud scheme has been sentenced to prison and ordered to pay more than $22.5 million in restitution to 73 victims, including four BigLaw firms. (Image from Shutterstock)
A North Carolina man convicted in an attorney-fraud scheme has been sentenced to prison and ordered to pay more than $22.5 million in restitution to 73 victims, including four BigLaw firms.
Omoyoma Christopher Okoro, 50, of North Carolina was sentenced to 100 months in prison and five years of supervised release Sept. 19, report Law360 and a Sept. 23 press release from the U.S. Department of Justice.
Okoro was the fifth person prosecuted in the scheme in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania. Prosecutors think that the fraudsters attempted to defraud attorneys out of more than $80 million and collected more than $23 million.
Okoro was convicted in September 2023 of conspiracy to commit mail, wire and bank fraud; mail fraud affecting a financial institution; wire fraud affecting a financial institution; and bank fraud. Prosecutors say the fraud happened between 2006 and 2010, before Okoro moved to the United States from Nigeria.
The scheme typically involved a purported prospective client contacting a lawyer and claiming to be owed money in a business transaction, a dispute or an accident.
After the lawyer agreed to the representation, the so-called client would say the matter had been settled. A check would be sent to the lawyer with instructions to deposit it and to send all but the attorney fees to a foreign bank account. The lawyer would be victimized if they wired the money abroad before discovering that the check was counterfeit.
These law firms and restitution amounts appear on the victim list accompanying the judgment:
• Edwards Angell Palmer & Dodge, $400,600
• Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe, $473,580
• Pepper Hamilton (now known as Troutman Pepper Hamilton Sanders), $249,600
• Ropes & Gray, $98,540
Other defendants in the scheme included Henry Okpalefe, who was convicted in March 2017, and Okoro’s brother, Omoefe Okoro, whose charges were tossed because of a speedy-trial violation.
