Invictus Obi, jailed in US for $11m fraud,released from prison

Obinwanne Okeke, the Nigerian businessman popularly known as Invictus Obi, walked free from a United States federal prison this week after serving roughly six years of a 10-year sentence for orchestrating an $11 million internet fraud operation.​ Federal Bureau of Prisons records confirmed his release as of December 23 or 24, 2025, well ahead of his original schedule.​ Now 38, Okeke faces imminent deportation to Nigeria as required by his 2021 guilty plea.​

Fraud Scheme Details

Okeke ran a sophisticated business email compromise scheme from 2015 to 2019, hacking into corporate accounts to divert payments from victims including US-based machinery exporter Unatrac Holding Limited.​ FBI agents arrested him in August 2019 at Virginia’s Dulles International Airport as he attempted to flee to Nigeria, charging him with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and computer intrusions.​ Court documents revealed he used stolen login credentials and impersonation tactics to siphon approximately $11 million into controlled accounts.​

Rise and Fall

Once hailed as a prodigy, Okeke earned a spot on Forbes Africa’s 30 Under 30 list in 2016 for founding the Invictus Group, a conglomerate spanning real estate, energy, and aviation.​ His lavish lifestyle masked the criminal enterprise until federal investigators unraveled it.​ In February 2021, a US court in Virginia imposed the 10-year term following his guilty plea.​

ADVERTISEMENT

Early Release Factors

Okeke’s shortened sentence stems from good conduct credits and the First Step Act, a 2018 prison reform law signed by then-President Donald Trump that rewards rehabilitation and compliance.​ This bipartisan measure has enabled thousands of early releases by reducing time for non-violent offenders meeting specific criteria.​ Deportation proceedings now follow, aligning with standard protocol for convicted non-citizens.​