Izunna Okonkwo, a dual US-Nigerian national, has been indicted along with five others of different nationalities over an alleged $41 million stock market fraud in the United States.
According to a statement from the US Department of Justice obtained by PUNCH Metro on Sunday, Okonkwo and his co-defendants are accused of engaging in insider trading between June 2020 and February 2024.
The six suspects were charged last Friday for participating in a multi-year scheme to trade securities using confidential, non-public information.
The other defendants include Muhammad Saad Shoukat, 33, and his brothers, Muhammad Arham Shoukat, 35, and Muhammad Shahwaiz Shoukat, 36—all dual US-Pakistani citizens—along with their associate, Daniyal Khan, 33, a dual UK-Pakistani citizen.
The DOJ statement explains that an individual named Kim, who worked at an investment bank involved in mergers and acquisitions of publicly traded healthcare and biopharmaceutical companies, obtained confidential information about at least nine pending deals.
“Kim shared this material non-public information with Saad Shoukat, who traded on it personally and through others. Saad Shoukat then tipped off Arham Shoukat, Shahwaiz Shoukat, Khan, and Okonkwo, who also traded and profited illegally. Collectively, the scheme generated at least $41 million in illicit gains,” the statement said.
Additionally, the defendants are accused of manipulating the stock of Olema, a company developing a breast cancer drug called OP-1250. Saad and Arham Shoukat reportedly encouraged others to buy Olema shares before falsifying confidential data on OP-1250 to make the drug appear more effective, temporarily boosting the stock price and generating profits from large share sales.
They allegedly engaged in similar manipulations with Opiant, a company focused on opioid overdose treatments.
The defendants face charges including stock manipulation, conspiracy, and insider trading, with potential sentences ranging from 20 to 25 years in prison per count if convicted.
Okonkwo is not the first Nigerian involved in fraud cases in the US. On December 4, the US ordered the deportation of Oluwaseun Adekoya after he completed a 20-year prison sentence for his role in a $2 million fraud scheme, which involved bank fraud, money laundering, and aggravated identity theft.
