Missouri City man's fraudulent $1.5M shopping spree gets him prison sentence
HOUSTON - After taking himself on a million-dollar shopping spree, a Missouri City man received his prison sentence for conspiracy to commit wire fraud and identity theft charges, said U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.
On Friday, 34-year-old Emmanuel Babajide Awolaja was sentenced to more than 13 years in federal prison after previously entering a guilty plea on Nov. 3, 2023. U.S. District Judge Ewing Werlein Jr. ruled he must serve 138 months for the conspiracy, along with an additional 24 months for aggravated identity theft charge.
After his sentence, Awolaja must serve three years of supervised release and pay $263,955.73 in restitution to victims, including local merchants.
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Awolaja and Tia Nicole Chavis gained the credit card information for numerous Chase Bank customers and personal identifying information from various individuals. From February 2021 to October 2023, Chavis helped Awolaja use the information to make illegal purchases ranging from expensive jewelry to hotel rooms and rental cars.
The duo would tell merchants to manually enter the card numbers, resulting in their purchases being approved and causing substantial losses for the merchants. The investigation revealed Awolaja used the stolen account information to make purchases in multiple states, including Iowa and Virginia.
According to court records and evidence, Awolaja was responsible for over $1.5 million in losses. The 34-year-old had an extensive criminal history dating back two decades, with this being his 13th felony offense.
The scheme came to light on May 19, 2021, when Awolaja and Chavis attempted to fraudulently purchase a $14,000 watch at Tomball Pawn and Jewelry. Law enforcement worked with merchants nationwide to identify the pair from store surveillance footage in other transactions.
Chavis, 32, from Houston, also pleaded guilty and is scheduled for sentencing on April 12. Both individuals have been and will remain in custody.
The investigation was conducted by the Secret Service, with Assistant U.S. Attorney Jay Hileman prosecuting the case.