Skip to main content

FULL LIST OF 33 NIGERIANS ON TRIAL IN TEXAS, US FOR ROMANCE, INTERNET FRAUD RELATED OFFENCES

 

33 Nigerians on trial in Texas for romance scams -The full List 

FBI-and-the-arrested-Nigerian-suspects2

File: some of the arrested Nigerians in Texas 2020

A total of 33 Nigerians have been indicted by Federal grand juries in the Northern and Eastern districts of Texas for defrauding elderly victims in romance schemes.

One of the Nigerians, 51 year-old Irabor Fatarr Musa was indicted by the two districts.

According to acting U.S. Attorney Prerak Shah, 11 Nigerians were indicted by the Department of Justice northern district, all arrested during a large-scale operation last Wednesday morning.

They have been charged with a variety of financial crimes, including conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to launder monetary instruments.

The majority of the defendants charged in this investigation have ties to a transnational organized crime syndicate originating in Nigeria, law enforcement revealed at the weekend.

According to court documents, the Nigerians preyed on elderly victims, many of whom were widowed or divorced.

They assumed fake names and trolled dating sites like Match.com, ChistianMingle, JSwipe, and PlentyofFish, searching for targets.

Once they had ingratiated themselves with their victims, they allegedly concocted sob-stories about why they needed money – i.e., taxes to release an inheritance, essential overseas travel, crippling debt, etc.

They then siphoned money from victim’s accounts, tens of thousands of dollars at a time.

“Crimes like these are especially despicable because they rely not only on victims’ lack of internet savvy, but also, their isolation, their loneliness, and sometimes their grief.

As the victims open their hearts, the perpetrators open their wallets,” Acting U.S. Attorney Prerak Shah said at a press conference announcing the charges.

“The only mistake these victims make is being generous to the wrong people.”

“The crimes allegedly committed by these defendants hit close to home. Your neighbours, parents, friends and family would be targets of this organization.

“The fraudsters intimidated and berated their victims, ruined their lives, really, and then disappeared,” said FBI Dallas Special Agent in Charge Matthew J. DeSarno.

Those charged in the Northern District of Texas include:

*David Animashaun, 38 – arrested in DFW, charged with wire fraud conspiracy

*Oluwalobamise Michael Moses, 40 – arrested in DFW, charged with wire fraud conspiracy

*Irabor Fatarr Musa, 51 – arrested in the Eastern District of Texas, charged by the Northern District of Texas wire fraud conspiracy, money laundering conspiracy

*Ijeoma Okoro, 31 – arrested in DFW, wire fraud conspiracy fraud, money laundering conspiracy

Chukwemeka Orji, 36 – arrested in DFW, charged with wire fraud conspiracy, money laundering conspiracy

*Emanuel Stanley Orji, 35 – arrested in DFW, charged with wire fraud conspiracy

*Frederick Orji, 37 – arrested in Dallas, charged with wire fraud conspiracy, money laundering conspiracy

*Uwadiale Esezobor, 36 – arrested in Lubbock, charged with mail & wire fraud conspiracy

*Victor Idowu, 36 – arrested in Los Angeles, charged with mail & wire fraud conspiracy

*Afeez Abiola Alao, 37 – wire fraud conspiracy, money laundering conspiracy

*Ambrose Sunday Ohide, 47 – wire fraud conspiracy

If convicted, the defendants face up 20 years in federal prison on the wire fraud conspiracy counts and up to 10 years in federal prison on the money laundering conspiracy counts.

A federal grand jury in Sherman in the Eastern District of Texas has also indicted 23 other Nigerians for similar scams.


Indicted individuals that have been arrested include:

Kingsley Ita, aka “Baron” “Sifk,” 42, of Dallas;

Irabor Fatarr Musa, aka “Fatai” “Head JJ,” 51, of Richardson;

Solomon Esekheigbe, 48, of Katy;

Sandra Iribhogbe Popnen, aka “General,” 46, of Allen;

Edgal Iribhogbe, aka “Oseme,” 50, of Allen;

Damilola Kumapayi, aka “Luke Morris,” 33, of Dallas;

Ehiedu Onyeagwu, aka “Young,” 58, of Rosedale, Maryland;

Mathew Okpu, 57, of Temple Hille, Maryland;

Benedicta Atakare, 46, of Temple Hills, Maryland;

Segun Adeoye, 47, of Pearland;

Chidindu Okeke, aka “Steve,” 28, of Richmond;

Ngozi Okeke, 47, of Katy;

Nosoregbe Asemota, aka “Patrick Asemota,” 46, of Melissa;

Chigozi Ekwenugo, 53, of Grand Prairie;

Bukola Obaseki, 48, of Allen;

Stella Hadome, 43, of Allen;

Jequita Batchelor, 37, of Farmers Branch;

Osaretin Eghaghe, aka “Biggie,” 37, of Plano;

Ejiro Ohwovoriole, 29, of McKinney;

Isaac Asare, aka “Asarko,” 48, of Houston;

Gold Ude, 44, of Wylie;

Henrietha Oziegbe, 23, of Lexington, Kentucky; and

Kingsly Oziegbe, 25, of Edinburg.

Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District Nicholas J. Ganjei announced the indictment

Allegedly, the defendants obtained at least $17 million from at least 100 individual victims, companies, and government entities from across the world.

The defendants are alleged to have specifically targeted elderly persons and used various schemes such as online dating sites to lure their victims.

The indictment charges that once they fraudulently obtained funds from their victims, the defendants laundered the money through a network of various bank accounts and sent money to bank accounts, co-conspirators and businesses located in Africa and Asia.

In March 2020, the FBI similarly arrested 24 individuals, some of them Nigerians, running scams in Texas from Atlanta Georgia.



Comments

Popular posts from this blog

$100 MILLION STOLEN BY HACKERS IN CRYPTO HEIST

  Hackers steal nearly $100m in Japan crypto heist IMAGE SOURCE, Liquid has been hit by hackers, with almost $100m (£73m) estimated to have been stolen. Leading Japanese cryptocurrency exchange Liquid has been hit by hackers, with almost $100m (£73m) estimated to have been stolen.  The company announced that some of its digital currency wallets have been "compromised." It is the second major theft of cryptocurrencies to take place in recent days.                 Last week, digital token platform Poly Network was at the centre of a $600m heist. "WE ARE SORRY TO ANNOUNCE THAT #LIQUIDGLOBAL WARM WALLETS WERE COMPROMISED, WE ARE MOVING ASSETS INTO THE COLD WALLET," THE COMPANY SAID ON TWITTER. So-called 'warm' or 'hot' digital wallets are usually based online and designed to allow users to access their cryptocurrencies more easily, while 'cold' wallets are offline and harder to access and therefore usually more secure.                            

ACTRESS SENTENCED TO SIX MONTHS IN ISLAMIC SCHOOL

    Sharia Court Sentences Kannywood Actress To Six Months In Islamic School The actress, Sadiya Haruna was handed the sentence on charges of “indecent social media postings.” Credit: Instagram | Sadiya Haruna The actress, Haruna, a resident of Kabuga Quarters was initially arrested on Friday by the Head of Surveillance Department of Kano State Hisbah Board, Malam Aliyu Usman. She was then detained in the custody of the Islamic police until early Monday when she was brought before the Sharia court sitting in Sharada area of the state. According to the First Information Report (FIR) filed against her, she was alleged to have consistently posted indecent videos in which she was dancing seductively and making sexual comments on her social media handles and YouTube channel. The accused person pleaded guilty to a one-count charge of obscenity and indecent act, which contradicts section 355 of Penal Code Law 2000. The presiding judge, Justice Ali Jibril Danzaki thereafter convicted her a

Countries Accepting Nigerians Seeking Second Citizenship

  Countries Accepting Nigerians Seeking Second Citizenship Nigerians are able to access the following citizenship and immigration programs: The Caribbean Second Citizenship Programs, Caribbean nations like St. Kitts & Nevis, St. Lucia and Grenada offer second citizenship through their respective Citizenship-by-Investment programs. A holder of one of these passports may travel visa free to about 135 countries, including all European Union countries, the UK, Russia, Turkey, Singapore and Hong Kong. Holding a citizenship from one of these respected countries may also make it easier to obtain residency status or study in other countries, and allows political security and makes it easier to open bank accounts in foreign jurisdictions. To qualify, an applicant needs to be of good reputation and make a government donation of at least $100,000 USD after approval of their citizenship application.  Approval of a Citizenship-by-Investment application normally takes about 3 months, and all de