Start spreading the news: New York-licensed attorney and accomplice sentenced in large-scale interstate email scam scheme
HOUSTON / Monday, February 9, 2026 - A man and woman have been ordered to federal prison for their respective roles in an identity theft and business email compromise (BEC) scam, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei.
Bolaji Okunnu, 32, pleaded guilty Sept. 26, 2025, while Amber Bush, 30, admitted her guilt Sept. 25.
U.S. District Judge George Hanks sentenced Okunnu to 39 months and Bush to 24 months in federal prison. Okunnu was also sentenced to three years of supervised release, while Bush received one year, following their terms of imprisonment.
At the hearing, the court heard that from 2021 to 2022, Okunnu operated an unlicensed money transmitting business that received and transmitted funds from the BEC scheme. As part of his scheme, Okunnu, a New York-licensed attorney, recruited two others into the enterprise, collected proceeds, and acted as an intermediary for higher-level conspirators. The court also heard that Okunnu directed co-defendants to destroy evidence on their cell phones and fabricate explanations for large sums deposited into co-conspirators’ bank accounts.
Okunnu and Bush were also ordered to pay restitution totaling $255,399.47 and $1,189,247.02, respectively, to victims nationwide.
As part of his plea, Okunnu admitted moving money through bank accounts he and others controlled. The funds originated from fraudsters involved in a BEC wire fraud scheme involving at least four victims. Okunnu acknowledged receiving the funds and, for a fee, transmitting the fraud proceeds to others.
The scheme also involved the theft of stolen checks from various companies. Bush created bank accounts to funnel money from stolen checks to Destini Godfrey, who is also charged in the BEC wire fraud scheme.
As part of her plea, Bush admitted to using the name and personal identifying information of a real person, without that person’s knowledge or consent, to open a bank account. After receiving deposits into that account, which originated from a stolen check, Bush issued four checks totaling $165,000 to Godfrey.
More than 45 people in multiple states, including Okunnu and eight others in the Southern District of Texas, have been charged in separate BEC schemes affecting numerous victims.
Godfrey, 31, Houston, is considered a fugitive, and a warrant remains outstanding for his arrest. Anyone with information about his whereabouts is asked to contact the FBI at 713-693-5000. He is presumed innocent unless convicted through due process of law.
The FBI-Bryan Resident Agency and IRS Criminal Investigation conducted the investigation with valuable assistance from the Middlesex County District Attorney’s Office and the Edison Police Department in New Jersey and other law enforcement agencies and U.S. Attorney’s Offices throughout the country. Assistant U.S. Attorney Belinda Beek prosecuted the case.
Source: U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of Texas
