Anthony Ibekie was convicted by a jury of multiple fraud offenses stemming from an inheritance-fraud scheme orchestrated between 2017 and 2020. The defendants posed as bank employees, using the fictitious name 'Peter Pfizer,' to deceive elderly victims into believing they had inherited money. To claim the funds, victims were instructed to pay fees via wire transfers to accounts controlled by the defendants. Count 5 specifically charged Ibekie with wire fraud regarding a September 2019 transaction where a victim, Gary Foster, wired $7,680 to a company called Berger Services. While other victims testified at trial, Foster did not. Ibekie moved for a judgment of acquittal, arguing the government failed to prove he defrauded Foster without Foster's testimony or the contents of their emails. The district court denied the motion, finding the circumstantial evidence sufficient, and sentenced Ibekie to 240 months in prison.
The Seventh Circuit applied the standard of reviewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the government, asking whether any rational trier of fact could find the essential elements of the offense beyond a reasonable doubt. The court rejected Ibekie's argument that the government needed to prove he intended to harm a specific victim, noting that intent to harm any victim suffices. The jury could infer intent from the scheme's design, which was calculated to deceive persons of ordinary prudence. Regarding the use of interstate wires, the court distinguished the case from United States v. Durham, where convictions were reversed due to a lack of evidence regarding the purpose of wire transfers. Here, the government provided evidence linking the transaction to the broader scheme: Foster transferred money to Berger Services, a shell company owned by Ibekie's ex-wife, and corresponded with Ibekie using the 'Peter Pfizer' alias. The court held that the jury was free to credit the undercover investigator's testimony regarding emails between Foster and Ibekie without needing corroborating documentary evidence of the email contents. The evidence that Foster's name appeared on a list of potential victims and that Ibekie used a consistent modus operandi across multiple counts was sufficient to support the conviction.
The district court's judgment of conviction on Count 5 stands, and no retrial or acquittal is required. The decision reinforces that circumstantial evidence, including the use of aliases and shell companies, can satisfy the elements of wire fraud even when the specific victim does not testify. It clarifies that the government is not obligated to produce every piece of documentary evidence if the jury can reasonably infer the fraudulent purpose from the totality of the circumstances.
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