Celestine “Skip” Aniekwu {BSO}
A Sunrise businessman who evaded capture for 15 years has been sentenced to 16 months in federal prison for his role in a wire fraud conspiracy involving alleged kickbacks to public officials.
Celestine “Skip” Aniekwu, 65, surrendered earlier this year and pleaded guilty in September to charges stemming from a 2008 scheme to pay $150,000 in bribes to City of Miramar officials. The bribes were allegedly intended to secure construction contracts for the Ansin Sports Complex and the Miramar Regional Service Center.
U.S. District Judge Rodney Smith sentenced Aniekwu to the maximum allowed under sentencing guidelines.
Court filings revealed that Aniekwu approached undercover FBI agents, posing as asset managers, for assistance in obtaining cash for the bribes. Aniekwu and an officer of a subcontractor conspired to generate false invoices for work that was never performed, allowing the subcontractor, a subsidiary of a publicly traded company, to authorize $50,000 in payments.
The undercover agents cashed the checks and handed the money to Aniekwu, who allegedly planned to use the funds to pay Miramar officials.
The FBI investigated the case, which was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey N. Kaplan.
The U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Markenzy Lapointe, and FBI Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey B. Veltri announced the sentencing.
