HAGÅTÑA (The Guam Daily Post) — Three women will spend several years in federal prison for their involvement in an inheritance scam that victimized dozens of people on Guam.
On Tuesday morning, Sally Roberto, Monique Jones and Mekayda Jones appeared in the District Court of Guam to be sentenced after being convicted of charges that included conspiracy to commit money laundering and wire fraud.
The women’s charges stem from their involvement in an inheritance scam where they, along with their co-defendants from Nigeria who had Florida addresses, promised victims they would receive a “tenfold return” on their investment if they paid processing fees on an inheritance offered by a woman on Facebook.
Roberto, who was found guilty of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and 38 counts of wire fraud, was sentenced to 33 months in prison and ordered to pay $1,030,990 in restitution.
Monique Jones was found guilty of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to launder monetary instruments and 25 counts of wire fraud, and was sentenced to four years in prison and ordered to pay $578,130 in restitution.
Mekayda Jones was found guilty of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to launder monetary instruments and 14 counts of wire fraud, and was sentenced to three years in prison and ordered to pay $387,160 in restitution.
Social media scheme
In the closing arguments of the women’s trial in February, the prosecution explained to the jury that the scheme began in 2015 when Teresa Pereda was convinced by a woman over Facebook that she would receive money from the woman’s inheritance if she paid processing fees.
Pereda wasn’t on trial because she already had been sentenced to eight years in federal prison when she ran out of money after convincing others on island, including Roberto, to pay money with the same promise.
As for Monique Jones and Mekayda Jones, two women from Texas, they never interacted with Roberto, but were instead “money movers” for co-defendant Onyebachum Oseji, who asked the women to move his money among their bank accounts and wire money to other companies.
Other co-defendants, along with Oseji, included Jide Abimbola, Okechukwu Iwuji and Marcus Unigwe, who were Nigerian citizens with Florida addresses charged in connection to the conspiracy, which involved sending the wired money to Nigeria, federal prosecutor Marivic David said in her closing arguments.
Abimbola and Iwuji pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud prior to trial and face up to 20 years in federal prison.
According to federal court records, Abimbola was set to be sentenced Wednesday, but did not appear. A bench warrant was issued for his arrest.
Abimbola’s attorney, Joaquin “Jay” Arriola Jr., in an attempt to move the sentencing, stated Abimbola was recently robbed and his driver’s license and credit cards were stolen. He was expected to arrive on island Friday.
Iwuji was set to be sentenced Thursday.
Unigwe’s case was severed and is still in the process of being prosecuted, records state.
Sally Cruz Roberto enters the District Court of Guam in Hagåtña on Feb. 8, 2023.
Monique Jones, left, and Mekayda Jones enter the District Court of Guam on Feb. 8, 2023.