A New Jersey man was sentenced to 34 months in federal prison on March 23 for setting up phony entities, including a Port Chester jewelry business, and manipulating women to funnel $1.6 million in counterfeit checks into bank accounts.
U.S. District Judge Nelson S. Román also ordered Chidiebele “Dave” Okafor to pay $380,000 in restitution and submit to three years of supervision after his release.
“Please consider me for this second chance sentence of time served, your honor,” Okafor had beseeched the judge in a March17 letter, “and give me 200 years if you ever see me do anything against the law again.”
The first chance was his release from custody after his arrest in 2021, followed by revocation of bail a year ago when it was determined that he was still committing bank fraud.
God has given him clear revelations on what to do with his life, he states in the long handwritten letter, emboldening him to abide by the law, confront crime and assist law enforcement.
Okafor began romantic relationships with at least four women, according to court records, persuaded them to create businesses, open bank accounts, and deposit counterfeit checks.
This past December he pled guilty to bank fraud, in a plea agreement, and an identity theft charge was dropped.
Non-binding federal sentencing guidelines called for 46 to 57 months in prison.
Attorney Benjamin Gold of the Federal Defenders of New York argued for leniency.
He describes Okafor as a peaceful man who had never before been in trouble and who has learned from his mistakes.
Okafor was born in Nigeria 44 years ago, was an observant Catholic, and earned a Bachelor of Law degree.
He worked at a politically-connected law firm where he was critical of its business practices, Gold states in a sentencing memorandum. When the firm got caught up in corruption issues, he was blamed for the “leak.”
He and his wife moved to the United States in 2015 and sought political asylum “due to threats relating to Mr. Okafor’s prior employment in Nigeria.”
Gold says the sentencing guideline are too severe because they are based in part on a loss of $1.5 million to $3.5 million. But Okafor did not steal the checks. Rather, he was an intermediary who facilitated the crime and “not a criminal mastermind who got rich from his conduct.”
His take was $380,000.
Gold also notes that Okafor was a model inmate at the Westchester County Jail, who used his time to reconnect to his faith, think about his mistakes and organize Bible studies.
After he is released, Gold said in a letter to the judge, he will probably be deported.
Gold recommended a prison sentence of  one year and a day.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven J. Kochevar recommended four years.
Even after Okafor was released from custody after his arrest, he continued to commit bank fraud, Kochevar states in a sentencing letter.
He engaged in a repeated pattern of fraudulent conduct, the prosecutor said. He repeatedly manipulated women, impregnated one of his cohorts, coached the women on how to cover up the crimes,  operated a phishing scam and transferred stolen funds while released on bail, and demonstrated callous disregard for people, banks and the law.
Okafor has shown “an utter disregard for the court’s authority and the law,” Kochevar said. “He will not stop his criminal conduct unless he is incarcerated.”
