HATTIESBURG — A former William Carey track athlete was sentenced to three years of probation and ordered to pay nearly $200,000 in fines and restitution for her role in an overseas fraud scheme.

Aniekeme Etim, 24, was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Hattiesburg. Etim was one of six former college track and field athletes who were arrested and later sentenced in the scheme that ran from 2018 until 2022.

According to court documents and information presented to the Court, fraudsters based in Nigeria targeted men and women across the United States in romance scams, fraudulent goods scams, and military scams.

The victims of the fraud schemes would be instructed to send money to individuals based in the U.S., who would then transfer the money back overseas.

After investigating the money transfers, the FBI determined that Etim, Uyoyo Mercy Abire, Raymond Ekevwo, Toluwani Adebakin, Ngoni Chadyiwa, and Emmanuel Ineh were all receiving and transferring the proceeds from the schemes. At the time of the fraud, each of the individuals were collegiate track and field athletes.

Etim, Adebakin, Chadyiwa and Ineh all competed at William Carey University in Hattiesburg. Chadyiwa was originally from Zimbabwe, while Etim, Adebakin and Ineh were all from Nigeria. Ineh also competed at the University of Alabama.

Abire was an athlete at LSU and Ekevwo at Florida. Both were originally from Nigeria. Abire was an All-American in the women’s indoor long jump in 2020 and qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Championships in 2021.

Ultimately, the investigation did not show that any of the athletes directly contacted any of the fraud victims. However, as a result of the schemes, the athletes received funds from over 100 victims and transferred more than $820,000 overseas.

Etim was ordered to pay a $74,847.52 fine and restitution in the amount of $123,116.50. She was sentenced Thursday after pleading guilty to aiding and abetting the operation of an unlicensed money transmission business.

Abire pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering and was sentenced to 41 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release.

Ekevwo pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting the operation of an unlicensed money transmission business and was sentenced to 46 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release.

Adebakin pleaded guilty to money laundering and was sentenced to 36 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release.

Chadyiwa pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting the operation of an unlicensed money transmission business and was sentenced to three years of probation.

Ineh pleaded guilty to money laundering and was sentenced to time served and three years of supervised release.

Additionally, as part of their sentence, all of the defendants were ordered to pay restitution to the victims from whom they personally received funds. Each of the defendants also remain subject to potential deportation and/or removal.