American Woman Charged in Nigerian Wire Fraud Scam

Audrey Elaine Elrod a West Virginia woman has pleaded guilty in Virginia to federal charges stemming from a Nigerian wire fraud scheme according to a statement released on The United States department of Justice official website.

In the statement the 45-year-old , of Bluefield waived her right to be indicted on Tuesday and pled guilty to a two-count Information charging her with one count of structuring transactions to avoid reporting requirements and one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

According to evidence presented in court by Assistant United States Attorney Randy Ramseyer, Elrod was a participant in a Nigerian wire fraud scheme in which money was sent to Elrod from victims. Elrod then structured the transactions and forwarded most of the proceeds to Nigeria, via wire transfer. Between March 2012 and July 2013, Elrod received $446,927 in wire transfers into bank accounts she controlled. Between July 2012 and July 2013, Elrod structured $411,411 in cash transactions in an effort to hide her activity from the government.

At sentencing, Elrod faces a maximum possible penalty of up to 20 years in prison on the wire fraud charge and a maximum possible penalty of up to 10 years in prison on the structuring charge. In addition, the defendant faces a possible additional 10-year prison term, per count, for committing these crimes while on pretrial release.