Connecticut man sentenced in counterfeit money, drug distribution case

HARTFORD, Conn. – Anashe Ufumaka, 39, of New Haven, Conn., was sentenced Thursday to two years and three months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for dealing counterfeit currency and narcotics in a case investigated cooperatively with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

According to court records, Ufumaka supervised an operation to import and distribute counterfeit U.S. currency. Ufumaka ordered the counterfeit currency from sources in Nigeria and coordinated the shipping and receipt of the counterfeit currency when it arrived in the U.S. He then sold the counterfeit currency to other individuals and wired some of the proceeds back to his sources in Nigeria. Between April and September 2010, Ufumaka received more than $35,000 in counterfeit U.S. currency from sources in Nigeria.

On Sept. 10, 2010, Ufumaka distributed approximately 22-grams of cocaine to an individual working with law enforcement authorities in exchange for $1,300.

Additionally, on March 14, 2011, Ufumaka pleaded guilty to one count of dealing counterfeit Federal Reserve notes and one count of possession with intent to distribute, and distribution of cocaine.

Ufumaka, who appeared before U. S. District Judge Christopher F. Droney in Hartford, has been detained since his arrest on Sept. 20, 2010. The sentence was announced by David B. Fein, U. S. Attorney for the District of Connecticut.

ICE HSI was assisted in this investigation by the U.S. Secret Service and U.S. Postal Inspection Service.

The case is being prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Neeraj Patel and Assistant U.S. Attorney Ray Miller.