A 39-year-old Nigerian, Olaniyi Nasiru Ojikutu, has been sentenced to over 7 years in prison in the U.S for his role in an international romance scam. He was one of 10 people indicted as a result of Operation Gold Phish – a Chicago-based probe that identified an assortment of scams targeting elderly victims, CBSNews reports. Prosecutors said Ojikutu, a permanent legal resident of the U.S, helped lead a multi-year fraud scheme carried out by scammers in the U.S. & Nigeria.

The schemers targeted elderly victims through fake online romances & persuaded the victims to send money after building trust. Over a period of about 3 years, Ojikutu opened about 25 bank accounts in his own name, a fake name & a shell company through which he transferred about $3.4 million in fraudulently-obtained money, prosecutors said.