PHILADELPHIA, PA — A Lehigh County man pleaded guilty Tuesday to orchestrating an elaborate wire fraud scheme that diverted nearly $2 million in payments meant for legitimate businesses and individuals, federal prosecutors said.
U.S. Attorney David Metcalf announced that Chinedu Ekuma, 45, of Catasauqua, admitted to two counts of wire fraud before U.S. District Judge John M. Gallagher. Ekuma was charged earlier this month and now faces a maximum sentence of 40 years in federal prison.
According to court filings, from August 2020 through March 2023, Ekuma and co-schemers deceived both individuals and businesses by rerouting their intended payments into bank accounts he controlled. Prosecutors said Ekuma created two entities — Intelaris Solutions, LLC and Verge Capital — and opened multiple bank accounts in their names.
Victims were persuaded to send payments to these accounts under the false belief that the funds would reach the businesses or individuals they intended to pay. In reality, Intelaris Solutions and Verge Capital had no legitimate ties to any of the victims.
Prosecutors said Ekuma and others backed up the ruse with fabricated documents designed to make the companies appear entitled to receive the payments. Once the money was deposited, Ekuma transferred most of it to co-conspirators while keeping a share for himself.
In total, the scheme funneled more than $1.75 million into the fraudulent accounts and attempted to siphon an additional $650,000.
Ekuma is scheduled to be sentenced on March 12.
The case was investigated by the FBI’s Allentown Resident Agency and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Francis Weber.
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