Lalekan Jacob Ponle, also known as Mr. Woodberry, convicted in 2023 for defrauding individuals and businesses of millions of dollars, has appealed to the United States Court of Appeals to reduce his eight-year prison term, contending that the sentence was inaccurately calculated. According to documents from the U.S. Seventh Circuit court, Mr. Woodberry argued that he is unfairly imprisoned with a harsh restitution, both for the crimes he planned and those he executed.
Although he aimed to defraud entities of over $51 million, he ended up scamming victims of approximately $8 million, leading to an $8 million restitution order to seven identified victims. Prosecutors relied on a sentencing guideline that recommended enhancing his offense level by 22 levels, resulting in a harsher punishment. Mr. Woodberry insisted that only actual loss, not intended loss, should be used to calculate his offense level, citing that he should not be held accountable for planned crimes he did not commit.
U.S. prosecutors defended the lower court’s decision, asserting that the word “loss” is genuinely ambiguous and encompasses both actual and intended loss. They maintained that Mr. Woodberry’s admission of guilt justified the sentence. Sentenced on July 11, 2023, Mr. Woodberry has already forfeited bitcoins and assets and is appealing to reduce his sentence before being deported to Nigeria after serving his term at the Federal Correctional Institution in Danbury, Connecticut. His plea to file the case without paying court fees has been approved.