30 Nigerians arrested in the U.S over email scams

June 12, 2018 9:28 PM

The US revealed that such scams are common in the country while pledging to pursue perpetrators "regardless of where they are located".

News reports have revealed that 74 people have been rounded up by the United States of America, as part of the effort to combat email scam.

Of the 74 suspects arrested by the American government, 30 of them are reportedly Nigerians.

According to the reports, the suspects consist of people who have convinced 'clients to wire them money for fraudulent activities.

ALSO READ: Nigerian student defrauds US companies of millions of Dollars

BBC reports that the US revealed that such scams are common in the country while pledging to pursue perpetrators "regardless of where they are located".

LIB reports that FBI investigation aided by the IRS led to the arrest of one Gloria Okolie and Paul Aisosa, two Nigerians residing in Dallas, Texas.

According to the reports, they were charged in an indictment filed on June 6, 2018.

In the indictment, they are alleged to have defrauded a real estate closing attorney by sending the lawyer a spoofing email in which they posed as the seller and requested that the proceeds of a real estate sale, which amounts to $246,000, be wired to Okolie’s account.

According to the reports, the lawyer lost $130,000 after the bank was notified of the fraud and froze $116,000.

They were charged with laundering approximately $665,000 in illicit funds.

BBC reports that other Nigerians arrested include; Adeyemi Odufuye aka “Micky,” “Micky Bricks,” “Yemi,” “GMB,” “Bawz” and “Jefe,” 32, and Stanley Hugochukwu Nwoke, aka Stanley Banks,” “Banks,” “Hugo Banks,” “Banky,” and “Jose Calderon.

Their victims reportedly lost a joint approximate sum of $2.6 million, including at least $440,000 in actual losses to one victim in Connecticut.

The suspects were reportedly charged with a seven-count charge in the District of Connecticut.

Also, other co-conspirators, Olumuyiwa Yahtrip Adejumo, aka “Ade,” “Slimwaco,” “Waco,” “Waco Jamon,” “Hade,” and “Hadey,” 32, of Toledo, Ohio, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud on April 20, 2018.

According to the US Department of Justice, Odufuye pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft after being extradited from the United Kingdom to the United States and on January 3, 2018.

Meanwhile, Nwoke was extradited to the United States from Mauritius on May 25, 2018.

Although his case is currently pending, Nwoke's extradition is the first in over 15 years from Mauritius.

ALSO READ: Why are more young Nigerians turning to Internet fraud?

Another suspect, one Richard Emem Jackson, aka Auwire, aged 23, of Lagos, Nigeria, was charged in an indictment filed on May 17, 2018, in the District of Massachusetts, with two counts of unlawful possession of a means of identification as an accomplice in a fraud scheme.

The Indictment revealed that in 2017, Jackson, on two occasions, was alleged to have possessed the identifications of two victims with intent to commit wire fraud.

Authorities say they have seized, recovered or disrupted over $16m (£12m) since January 2018.

The reports further revealed that the arrests occurred in the US, Nigeria, Canada, Mauritius, and Poland.

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