A Thamesmead fraudster has been jailed for 12 months for his part in a £100,000 international money laundering scam.
Uwaifo Ogbeide was sentenced at the Old Bailey on Thursday (October 1) alongside Young Ewere, 31, who received four and a half years, and Renatus Ahadome, 27, who got 18 months.
The trio used personal and company bank accounts to launder more than £100,000 after tricking people on dating sites.
In 2012 a woman from America was befriended on the dating site Plentyoffish.com by a man called "John Eluwin".
He showered her with flowers and love letters before asking for money which he claimed was for a business associate.
In total the victim transferred more than $200,000, of which just over £30,000 went into Ewere's bank account.
Jailed: Uwaifo Ogbeide (left) and Renatus Ahadome.
Another American citizen lost £220, 475 after the fraudsters hacked his email address to redirect the money to another bank account.
When questioned Ogbeide, of Tawney Road, described himself as unemployed, despite the sporadic payments of between £2,000 and £8,000 appearing in his account.
He claimed he wasn't aware that the money was criminal property and that he was helping Ewere with his African car export business.
Ewere, from Bedfordshire, claimed he was running a car export business despite his lack of paperwork, while Ahadome, from West London, said the large sums of money were the result of his media company which creates promotional material for Nigerian churches.
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Detective Constable Roger Dainty, who led the investigation for the City of London Police, said: "These three men used their bank accounts to launder tens of thousands of pounds generated from online scams and in doing so fully involved themselves in an international criminal enterprise.
"This case once again highlights how seriously we take money laundering and should act as warning to others who think that they can get away with activities similar to Ewere, Ogbeide and Ahadome.
"It also emphasises the importance of never handing over money to someone you have just met online."
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