KLAS

Las Vegas man sentenced to prison in $400K church funds scheme

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LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — A Las Vegas man has been sentenced to more than three years in prison for his role in a conspiracy to fraudulently obtain money from accounts held by church members.

Oluremi Akinleye, 42, pleaded guilty in June to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, possession of 15 or more counterfeit and unauthorized access devices, and aggravated identity theft, according to a release from the United States Attorney’s Office.

According to court documents, from November 2017 to July 2018, Akinleye and his co-conspirators conspired to fraudulently obtain money from pension accounts held by members of the Pension Fund of the Christian Church and the Lutheran Church Extension Fund by impersonating those members. 

The funds provide pension and retirement systems for members of the religious community, including ministers.

As part of the scheme, Akinleye and his co-conspirators obtained the names and personal identifying information of account holders and then used that information to make withdrawals and transfers from the victim accounts to accounts the conspirators controlled.

As a result of the scheme, Akinleye and his co-conspirators attempted to fraudulently obtain over $400,000 from the two funds.