The U.S. authorities have revealed their plan to sell off 152 bitcoin confiscated from internet fraudster, Olalekan Jacob Ponle, also known as Mr. Woodberry, after he pleaded guilty to an $8 million wire fraud.
According to a document filed on Friday at the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, the U.S. Marshal Service will assume custody of the seized cryptocurrency for disposal, The People Gazette reported.
This decision follows Mr. Woodberry’s agreement to forfeit all proceeds from the wire fraud scheme, which he orchestrated under the alias 'Mark Kain'.
Interested individuals are encouraged by federal authorities to file a claim for the seized property within 30 days and provide valid documentation during the registration process.
The statement reads in part, "Provide written notice to any person known to have alleged an interest in the property that is the subject of the preliminary order of forfeiture."
"The United States shall publish notice of this order and of its intent to dispose of the property," the federal authorities said in the motion filed by Morris Pasqual, an acting U.S. attorney overseeing the case.
It added, "The United States requests that the terms and conditions of this preliminary order of forfeiture entered by this court be made part of the sentence imposed against defendant Olalekan Jacob Ponle and included in any judgment and commitment order entered in this case against him."
It is worth noting that while residing in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, he recruited a minimum of four money launderers. He was, however, apprehended by law enforcement authorities in Dubai and subsequently transferred to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, FBI in 2020. He was then promptly transported to Chicago, where he has been undergoing trial.
On June 29, federal prosecutors asked a judge to sentence Mr. Woodberry to 14 years' imprisonment for the fraud he committed between January and September 2019.