Jacob Olalekan Ponle, widely known as Woodberry, has been sentenced by a federal judge in the United States to eight years and three months in prison for his involvement in a multimillion-dollar scam. The sentencing was delivered on Tuesday by Judge Robert Gettleman of the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois in Chicago.
Judge Gettleman ordered Woodberry to be handed over to the custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons, where he will serve a total of 100 months for the conviction. Woodberry faced multiple counts of fraud, but as part of a plea agreement reached in April, seven of the charges were dropped.
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Under the ruling, Woodberry will be transferred to the Federal Correctional Institution in Danbury, Connecticut, and will be allowed visitation rights from his family members, including his American fiancée.
Following his incarceration, Woodberry will be immediately handed over to the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for deportation.
As part of the restitution, Woodberry will be required to pay approximately $8 million to seven victims. The court determined that he has the means to make the full payment, but all interests on the restitution value were waived.
On June 29, American prosecutors requested a 14-year prison term for Woodberry based on the fraud committed between January and September 2019. The prosecutors also sought permission from the court to sell Woodberry’s 152 bitcoins, with a 30-day notice issued to the public for potential claimants. However, no legitimate claimants came forward by the time of Woodberry’s sentencing.
Additionally, the prosecutors recommended that Woodberry forfeit various assets held by Dubai police, including luxury vehicles like a Rolls Royce, Lamborghini Urus, and Mercedes-Benz G-Class AMG G55, as well as valuable watches and jewelry.
Woodberry was arrested on June 10, 2020, along with Ramon ‘Hushpuppi’ Abbas, who was sentenced to 11 years in prison for internet fraud in the United States late last year.
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