A former
Brooklyn-based civil attorney, and Pastor of the Deeper Life Bible Church,
Ifeanyichukwu Eric Abakporo, was yesterday in federal court in New York
sentenced to six years in a United States prison in a case of defrauding banks,
mortgage lenders, property owners, and property buyers.
Mr. Abakporo
was immediately remanded into custody by presiding U.S. District Court Judge,
Shira A. Scheindlin. His wife and two children wept openly in the
courtroom. He was led away in handcuffs.
In addition
to the six-year mandatory sentence, Abakporo will more than likely face
deportation to Nigeria after serving his sentence, with the likelihood of a
three-year supervisory probation release waved.
His
co-defendant, Latanya Pierce, received a lighter, 30-month sentence. In her closing statement, Pierce said she
felt like the “biggest fool in the world.”
The legal
fate of Abakporo and Pierce was never in doubt.
They were convicted in a wide-ranging series of illegal transactions in
New York City over a nine-year stretch, dating back to 2003.
Following
the sentencing procedures, neither prosecuting attorneys nor the attorneys
defending the two would offer comments to SaharaReporters.
As Abakporo
was taken away in handcuffs, his wife and two children wept openly in the courtroom
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