| Alisigwe Convicted of
Theft from Wheelchairs 4
Kids Now Gets 5 Years in
Prison
by
Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon Book
Substack
SDNY
COURTHOUSE,
April 8 – Chinwendu Alisigwe
was on trial for bank fraud
and identity theft. The trial
began on December 11, 2023
before U.S. District Court for
the Southern District of New
York Judge Valerie E. Caproni
and Inner City Press was
there.
The
Federal Defender argues among
other things that the fraud
continued even after Alisigwe
was arrested and detained, and
that the prosecution won't be
able to show the required mens
rea, or evil mind.
The prosecutors
put on the witness stand the
direct of Wheelchairs 4 Kids
in Florida, whose email was
hacked leading to more than
$40,000 of the non-profit's
money been sent from Hancock
Whitney Bank to JPM Chase in
New York - into an account
opened without his consent in
the name of a man from
Wisconsin, who also
testified.
Both cross
examinations focused on that
the witness did not know
Chinwendu Alisigwe and, in the
end, did not lose money.
On December 12,
the jury was shown many, many
photographs of Alisigwe in
Chase ATMs, in Queens and
Valley Stream, and a visit in
which he wired out $75,000
ostensibly to a textile
company. The defense objected
to the witness being asked if
the photos were of Alisigwe
but that was overruled. The
jurors looked back and forth.
On December 13
the prosecutors walked their
witness through Alisigwe's
"thanks bro" messages, and
told the jury of his multiple
passports, with multiple
names, from Kenya and Togo.
On December 14,
Alisigwe was found guilty of
bank fraud, conspiracy to
commit bank fraud, and
conspiracy to commit money
laundering. He sentencing was
set for April 8, 2024 at 11
am.
On March 25, the
US Attorney's Office wrote in
and asked for a sentence of
121 months.
On April 1, the
US Attorney's Office wrote in
to emphasize that the
guideline sentence should be
calculated off intended loss,
not actual loss.
On April 8,
Alsigwe was sentenced to five
years in prison.
USA vs. Chinwendu
Alisigwe 22-cr-425 (Caproni)
***
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