Using a downtown Sacramento office as his base, Adams helped operate a sophisticated Nigerian scam that defrauded victims around the world out of more than $1 million, with some of the proceeds channeled back to him.

On Friday, Adams, 38, was sentenced to 97 months in federal prison for his role in the scheme - and for fraudulently obtaining U.S. citizenship.

"Some of the victims lost their life savings," U.S. District Judge Edward J. Garcia of Sacramento said in imposing the sentence.

With co-conspirators in Africa and Canada, Adams sent letters and e-mails starting in February 2001 purporting to be from African government officials who claimed they needed help in transferring vast sums of money to overseas bank accounts, prosecutors said.

People agreeing to help were promised a portion of the cash if they provided their bank accounts and agreed to pay certain fees up front.

The victims also visited sham banking Web sites - including Bankofafrica.com - that had been commissioned by Adams, prosecutors said.

Using a special password, they could view the amount that had been "designated" for transfer to them once they paid the fees to cover the transaction. Some victims lost hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Adams contacted some of them, telling them he was a banker.

Adams, held in Sacramento County jail without bail since his arrest in June 2002, pleaded guilty in 2003 to conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, and conspiring to launder money in connection with the fraud scheme.

In Sept. 2003, Garcia ruled that the government had a right to seize Adams' $379,000 Elk Grove home, which he purchased shortly before his arrest. Adams used illicit funds to make a $134,000 down payment on the home - and that amount will go toward the victims' restitution when the home is sold.

Adams also agreed to forfeit more than $87,000 that was seized from his bank and investment accounts.

And on Friday, he was ordered to pay $1,201,092 in restitution to the roughly 20 identified victims of the scam.

Adams told the court that prosecutors had not proved that he received any proceeds from the scheme.

"Nothing links me, in terms of money, to this particular case," Adams said. "I had nothing to do with the money."

"It's too late to argue that now," Judge Garcia replied, noting that Adams should have made those arguments during earlier evidentiary hearings - even though the outcome probably wouldn't have changed.

Besides the fraud charges, Adams was convicted of unlawful procurement of U.S. citizenship and making a false statement during his naturalization interview.

He was stripped of his U.S. citizenship on Friday, and likely will be deported to Nigeria after his prison sentence.

None of the victims was in court Friday, but one of them, Margie Ziereis of Wisconsin, shouted "Hallellujah" when notified that the case was over.

"It's about time," the school bus driver said by telephone.

Ziereis said she expected to collect $50 million if she allowed three times that amount to be transferred to her bank account for safekeeping. To pay for the transaction, she wired $8,000 to an address in Canada; nothing was ever transferred to her bank.

Adams was arrested by U.S. Secret Service agent Brian J. Korbs as a result of a tip that someone in Sacramento had set up phony bank Web sites.

"We're very pleased with the sentence," said Brady Mills, resident agent in charge of the U.S. Secret Service in Sacramento. "We agree ... that the sentence sends a strong signal to would-be perpetrators."