It's unlikely that his victims will see any money, prosecutors said. And though justice has been served, it will do little to comfort his victims.
"Some may never financially, physically or emotionally recover from being duped by his cruel scheme," said Linwood C. Wright, the Assistant U.S. Attorney who prosecuted the case.
According to court documents, one elderly woman said that she had "sold home and used part of payment to help someone claiming to be my grandson. Lost home and faith in people - hope it gets better."
Another wrote "I borrowed the money and I am still paying ... I still have $1300 to pay, as I live on [Social Security] it will take me another 4 years to pay it if I live that long as I am 85 years young."
A third emotionally scarred victim wrote about Ojo's grift "[It was] 1) On my mind every day. I am 86 years old. 2) Kept secret from my children ... 4) Have fallen 3 or 4 times because I cannot clear my mind of this tragic situation. 5) I am just a nervous wreck."
During the first contact, Ojo would tell his victims to wire funds, using Western Union or MoneyGram, to a fictitious name in Toronto. Ojo would then use fake identification to pick up the money, federal prosecutor's said.
If the victim complied, he would tap them again. Ojo took $106,000 from one victim with his repeated requests, according to federal prosecutors.
Canadian authorities arrested Ojo in Oct. 2009 and extradited him to the United States in July 2010.
During his plea hearing in U.S. District Court in Philadelphia he claimed he was just a "small player" in the fraud. The Assistant U.S. Attorney convinced the jury otherwise.
"Most international fraudsters are never brought to justice. They operate in the shadowy world of impersonations and false identities," Wright said. "They, like Ojo, undoubtedly believe that they are insulated from detection by international boundaries and Byzantine mazes.
"They are not."
Contact Sam Wood at 215-854-2796, @samwoodiii or samwood@phillynews.com.
