A Federal Judge in the United States has sentenced Jacob Olalekan Ponle, also known as Woodberry, to eight years and three months in prison for orchestrating a multimillion-dollar fraud.
According to reports, Ponle was sentenced on July 11 by Judge Robert Gettleman of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois in Chicago. While sentencing him, Gettleman said: “The defendant is hereby committed to the custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons to be imprisoned for a total term of 100 months as to count.”
Gettleman instructed Ponle to present himself to the U.S. Marshal Service for transfer to the Federal Correctional Institution in Danbury, Connecticut, where he would be allowed to be visited by his family members and his American fiancée.
Also, the Judge stated that Ponle will be “surrendered to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody for deportation immediately following his incarceration”. The court determined that he had the financial power to repay the full payment but waived all interest on the restitution value. By implication, he will pay seven victims around $8 million in restitution. On June 29, American prosecutors requested that Ponle get a 14-year jail term for the fraud he committed between January and September of this year.
The prosecutors asked the court for permission to sell his 152 bitcoins, but only after giving the public 30 days’ notice to enable anyone with a claim to file one.
The prosecutors also suggested that Woodberry forfeits properties held by the Dubai police, like a Rolls-Royce, a Lamborghini Urus, a Mercedes-Benz G-Class AMG G55, four Rolex watches, a Patek Philippe watch, and three Audemars Piguet watches.
He must also surrender two bank cards, roughly $1,835 in Emirati dirhams, and around $15.45 in South African Rands, as well as five gold bracelets, two gold bracelet keys, six gold neck chains, one small gold nugget and one gold and diamond-studded necklace.
Woodberry was taken arrested in June 2020 alongside Ramon “Hushpuppi” Abbas, who was sentenced to 11 years in prison for computer fraud in the US last year.
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