by ‘Jola Sotubo

A cleric in a popular Nigerian church is to spend the next years in prison after he was convicted of fraud.

Ifeanyichukwu Eric Abakporo, a pastor with the Deeper Life Bible Church, was accused and found guilty of defrauding banks, mortgage lenders, property owners, and property buyers.

The sentenced was passed down on Abakporo, who is a lawyer, by a federal court in New York.

According to Sahara Reporters:

Mr. Abakporo was immediately remanded into custody by presiding U.S. District Court Judge, Shira A. Scheindlin. His wife and two children wept openly in the courtroom. He was led away in handcuffs.

In addition to the six-year mandatory sentence, Abakporo will more than likely face deportation to Nigeria after serving his sentence, with the likelihood of a three-year supervisory probation release waved.

His co-defendant, Latanya Pierce, received a lighter, 30-month sentence. In her closing statement, Pierce said she felt like the “biggest fool in the world.”

The legal fate of Abakporo and Pierce was never in doubt. They were convicted in a wide-ranging series of illegal transactions in New York City over a nine-year stretch, dating back to 2003.

Following the sentencing procedures, neither prosecuting attorneys nor the attorneys defending the two would offer comments to SaharaReporters.