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A Dublin man who laundered more than €1 million from online fraud and bank scams has been sentenced to five years and four months in prison. Sodiq Jimoh, 30, of Rossfield Close in Tallaght, pleaded guilty to assisting an organized crime group and committing nine counts of money laundering between May 2019 and August 2020. Jimoh had expected to receive 30% of the stolen funds.
Among the victims of the fraud was a woman in her 70s who lost thousands of euros. Jimoh was sentenced at the Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.
Having moved to Ireland at the age of nine, Jimoh later obtained a marketing degree from Dublin Business School. In court, he was described as “an intelligent, competent man” whose skills made him a valuable asset to the criminal operation. His involvement in the scheme included withdrawing cash from money mule accounts and accessing victims’ online banking to transfer funds. He used a six-digit code sent to his phone to seize control of bank accounts and move money between them. CCTV footage also captured him withdrawing money from ATM machines using mule accounts.
Money mules play a crucial role in allowing criminals to transfer illicit funds through legitimate bank accounts.
Jimoh was identified during Operation Skein, an international investigation led by the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau into invoice redirect fraud and compromised email scams. Authorities focused on two Ulster Bank accounts linked to fraudulent transactions worth €387,000 and €83,000. Investigators found that Jimoh had registered his phone number to these accounts, while the official account holders had no access to them.
Further inquiries revealed deposits totalling €26,000 in Jimoh’s personal Bank of Ireland and AIB accounts. Gardaí also discovered WhatsApp messages on his phone discussing bank details and fraudulent activities. In one exchange, he wrote: “I need a bank card for this.” In another, he stated: “Fam, at the end of the day it is free money.”
By fLEXI tEAM
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