Woodberry sentenced to 8 years in prison; to be deported to Nigeria

A United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois in Chicago has sentenced Jacob Olalekan Ponle a.k.a Mr Woodberry, to eight years and three months in prison for a multimillion-dollar fraud.

Judge Robert Gettleman of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois in Chicago stated,

“The defendant is hereby committed to the custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons to be imprisoned for a total term of 100 months as to count”.

Judge Gettleman ordered Mr Ponle to submit himself to the U.S. Marshal Service for onward transfer to the Federal Correctional Institution in Danbury, Connecticut, where his family members, especially his American fiancée, would be allowed to visit him. 

“Mr. Ponle will also be “surrendered to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody for deportation immediately following his incarceration”, the judge said.

Woodberry has also been ordered to pay seven victims an amount of $8 million in restitution after the court discovered he has the funds to pay off victims.

Mr Woodberry was arrested on June 10, 2020, alongside Ramon ‘Hushpuppi’ Abbas, who was jailed late last year for 11 years in the U.S. for internet fraud.

Woodberry was sentenced after being convicted on one count of fraud. Seven other counts were dismissed following a plea bargain in April that was previously reported by The Gazette.