Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Catherine C. Blake sentenced Samson A. Oguntuyi, age 29, of Atlanta, Georgia, yesterday to 54 months in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release for conspiracy to commit bank fraud and mail fraud, bank fraud, and aggravated identity theft.

The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek L. Barron; Special Agent in Charge Imari R. Niles of the U.S. Postal Service, Office of Inspector General; Postal Inspector in Charge Greg Torbenson of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service - Washington Division; and Special Agent in Charge J. Russell George of the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA).

According to his plea agreement, between July 25, 2016, and February 5, 2019, Oguntuyi conspired with Johnson B. Ogunlana, age 25, of Middle River, Maryland and others to steal bank checks and credit and debit cards from the mail, open fraudulent business banking accounts using the names of victim businesses and the stolen identities of victim postal customers to negotiate the stolen checks by depositing them into the fraudulent bank accounts, and then conduct transactions with stolen payment cards and with money derived from the stolen checks. Ogunlana was a letter carrier for the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) in Brooklyn, Maryland.

As stated in his plea agreement, at least $565,000 was stolen from two victim businesses and at least eight postal customers were victims of identity theft.

Ogunlana was sentenced to six years in federal prison for conspiracy to commit bank fraud and mail fraud, access device fraud, aggravated identity theft, and theft of mail by a postal employee on February 18, 2022.

United States Attorney Erek L. Barron commended the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and TIGTA for their work in the investigation. Mr. Barron thanked Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael F. Davio, who prosecuted the case.