Odiboh, 53, of Stone Mountain, Georgia, was convicted of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Prosecutors said he contacted a 77-year-old woman on Facebook in 2023 using the name Oliver Wilson, presenting himself as an American widower living in Norway. [S01]

Repeated requests to keep an online relationship going

During an online relationship lasting about a year and a half, the invented persona said he needed gift cards to maintain internet access and continue communicating. The woman sent approximately 30 cards worth $500 each. The release does not identify the card brands or explain how their value was redeemed. [S01]

The gift-card requests were one part of a larger sequence. Prosecutors said the same victim later sent eight checks totalling more than $162,000. Her bank stopped another $158,000 in checks after detecting fraud. Those payment amounts are separate from the reported gift-card loss. [S01]

Stephen Odiboh has been sentenced to 33 months in federal prison in a fraud conspiracy that persuaded one victim to send approximately $15,000 in gift cards. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of New York announced the sentence on October 8, along with an order to pay $196,500 in restitution. [S01] Odiboh, 53, of Stone Mountain, Georgia, was convicted of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Prosecutors said he contacted a 77-year-old woman on Facebook in 2023 using the name Oliver Wilson, presenting himself as an American widower living in Norway. [S01] Repeated requests to keep an online relationship going During an online relationship lasting about a year and a half, the invented persona said he needed gift cards to maintain internet access and continue communicating. The woman sent approximately 30 cards worth $500 each. The release does not identify the card brands or explain how their value was redeemed. [S01] The gift-card requests were one part of a larger sequence. Prosecutors said the same victim later sent eight checks totalling more than $162,000. Her bank stopped another $158,000 in checks after detecting fraud. Those payment amounts are separate from the reported gift-card loss. [S01]

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