Las Vegas man charged in scheme to steal $400K from church funds
A Las Vegas man is charged in a scheme to steal more than $400,000 from two church funds, the Justice Department announced Tuesday.
Oluremi Akinleye, 40, was indicted Aug. 25 and arrested three days later on one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, six counts of wire fraud, one count of possession of 15 or more counterfeit and unauthorized access devices, and three counts of aggravated identity theft, according to a statement from the department.
Between November 2017 and July 2018 he was part of a group of conspirators who impersonated religious community members, including ministers, to transfer money intended for them from the Pension Fund of the Christian Church and the Lutheran Church Extension Fund, according to the DOJ.
“As part of the scheme, Akinleye and his co-conspirators fraudulently obtained the names and personal identifying information of certain account holders. Akinleye then used that information to impersonate those individuals, making withdrawals and transfers from their accounts,” the statement read.
Akinleye’s jury trial is scheduled for Nov. 2.
Contact Sabrina Schnur at sschnur@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0278. Follow @sabrina_schnur on Twitter.