A Nigerian man has been sentenced to four years in a United States federal prison after defrauding at least 39 people of more than $2.7m through a bogus real estate investment scheme.
Joseph James Nantomah, 49, was sentenced on September 18 after pleading guilty to the fraud, according to the US Department of Justice.
Nantomah, who was also known as “The Black Mentor”, entered the US from Nigeria in 2016 on a visitor’s visa and later developed an online profile portraying himself as a successful real estate investor, the FBI said.
Between May 2020 and December 2024, he allegedly used conferences, classes and his online platforms to attract investors to his purported real estate business.
Court records showed that he collected $2,762,798.37 from at least 39 victims, many of whom were Nigerian immigrants and members of his church.
Investigators found that Nantomah did not operate the legitimate real estate business he claimed to have established. Instead, more than $2m of the investors’ funds was used for personal expenses and to maintain an affluent public image.
The US authorities said the money financed private jets, luxury vehicles, expensive jewellery and a yacht. He also allegedly paid celebrities to appear at his conferences and bought honorary doctorate degrees for himself and his wife.
The investigation was conducted by the FBI and the IRS Criminal Investigation, with assistance from the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions.
The US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Wisconsin announced the sentence on September 21.
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