Tuesday, February 24, 2026
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Los Angeles Attorney Sentenced to Prison for Connection to Nigerian Oil Bribery Scheme
By a MetNews Staff Writer
Los Angeles-area attorney Paulinus “Pollie” Okoronkwo, 58, was sentenced yesterday to more than seven years in prison for committing money-laundering transactions relating to a $2.1 million bribe that he accepted while serving as an officer of a foreign, state-owned oil company.
A dual citizen of the U.S. and Nigeria, the lawyer operated an office in Koreatown, offering services relating to immigration, family law, and personal injury cases. In January, the State Bar suspended his law license, on an interim basis, after a federal jury found him guilty in August of three counts of money laundering under 18 U.S.C. § 1957 as well as tax evasion and obstruction of justice.
Lawyers with the U.S. Attorney’s Office filed a sentencing memorandum last month recommending a 10-year prison term.
More Fortunate Than Most
In the memorandum, the prosecutors wrote:
“Defendant…was more fortunate than most. In the United States, he was a member of the state bar and maintained a successful legal practice. And in his native Nigeria, he leveraged his connections to secure a prestigious role as a general manager of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation…, a state-owned entity and the largest corporation in the country. But defendant wanted more, and when [Switzerland-based] Addax Petroleum found itself in difficult straits, he was all too eager to accept a $2.1 million bribe to help it secure favorable drilling rights.”
They continued:
“After betraying the people of Nigeria, defendant[] committed various crimes in the United States to cover his tracks: he laundered the bribe money through his [trust] and shell company accounts; he intentionally left it off his tax return; and, when interviewed by federal agents, he lied to them. For this conduct, defendant was convicted after a four-day jury trial on all five counts of the [the operative] Indictment….”
Chinese-Owned Conglomerate
Addax is a Switzerland-based subsidiary of Sinopec, a Chinese state-owned petrochemical conglomerate and the third-largest oil and gas producer in the world. According to the prosecutors, Addax wired a payment of $2.1 million to Okoronkwo’s legal trust account in October 2015, purportedly for his consulting work in helping the entity secure drilling rights in Nigeria.
According to the indictment, Addax stood to lose billions if it failed to secure favorable drilling rights in Nigeria. The company signed an engagement letter with Okoronkwo that listed a fake law office address in Lagos as part of an alleged ruse to characterize the payment as legal fees.
Between 2016-18, the attorney allegedly used the funds to pay for family expenses, a car, and a $983,000 down payment on a home in Valencia.
District Court Judge John F. Walter of the Central District of California sentenced Okoronkwo yesterday. Walter directed him to pay $923,824 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service and ordered the forfeiture of $1.03 million of Okoronkwo’s funds.
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