It was learnt that the suspects used fake names on dating sites to prey on their targets including widowed and divorced. Internet fraud, identity theft, and bank fraud, among other crimes, are all prohibited under federal law. They will face indictment for money laundering and wire scam that defrauded over 100 people nationwide. Nigerians Charged in the Northern District of Texas ; All of the defendants named are innocent until proven guilty. Meanwhile, Legit.ng previously reported that a woman of Nigerian descent, Amanda Azubuike, has become a Brigadier General of the United States Army. By enabling special filtering of emails, the cybercriminals ensured that interesting emails (containing payment information) addressed to the victim are first redirected to fraudsters fake email boxes or are hidden from the victim in service directories, a company spokesperson told Forbes. NIBSS reports that criminals defrauded a total of 48,767 unique financial subscribers. They are facing extradition charges to the United States. F ormer Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams is in Nigeria watching the presidential elections as an international observer.. Abrams, who infamously cast doubt on the 2018 gubernatorial . ( source: Nilson Report) Shah encourages victims to come forward and reassures them that the scams are more common than one might think, disclosing that more than 20,000 people lost $600million in romance scams in 2020. . The United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has arrested 35 Nigerians in North Texas, in fraud worth $117 Million. In 2021, 14 percent of identity theft reports included more than one type of identity theft. They were among the 35 persons. On November 30, 18 pupils from the Nour Technical School in the sacred city of Qom were poisoned and transported to the hospital. "The Co-conspirators often used aliases not only of the purported love interest of a victim, but also of other people involved in that person's life, including a purported child, a business partner, or a friend, to bolster the perceived legitimacy of the stories portrayed, as a part of the Romance Scam or Advance Fee Scheme and to further induce the victims to send money on behalf of the purported love interest," the indictment said. As pointed out in this piece, humans will always be the weakest link in the most sophisticated firewalls and advanced technologies, and theres a need for companies to engage in more customer and employee education. One of the victims, a Japanese woman named FK in court papers, was conned out of $200,000 after being contacted by a fraudster identifying themselves as US Capt Terry Garcia who wanted to smuggle diamonds out of Syria. Gbadegesin was said to have been involved in a romance. 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. 27th September, 2021 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. Catch up on the developing stories making headlines. 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. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has arrested 35 Nigerian internet fraudsters for their alleged involvement in a romance scam worth $17 million in the United States.. From August 8, 2008 to June 30, 2013, Nursing School 1 was a nursing school in Virginia until it was shut down for violating certain state regulations by the Virginia Board. Suspects are believed to be members of Black Axe, a Nigerian confraternity and crime syndicate. He was also charged with wire fraud over his involvement in an international romance scheme. 2023 BBC. Enter Search Term(s): . Tax fraud. Akinwande Soji-Ojo A Nigerian national, Adedunmola Gbadegesin, has been sentenced to 60-month jail term for a money laundering conspiracy. Judy Middleton, 70, of Ridgeland, Mississippi, is accused by federal prosecutors. March 1, 2023. Furthermore, the Black Axe arrests in the US represent the second crackdown against an international crime syndicates cybercrime operations. It also stated Le Graet, who has consistently denied any wrongdoing, should not return to his post because his behavioural excesses are incompatible with the carrying out of his functions. They assumed fake names and trolled dating sites like Match.com, ChistianMingle, JSwipe, and PlentyofFish, searching for targets. According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), Nigeria recorded a slight GDP growth of 0.51% (year-on-year) in the first quarter of 2021, slower than the 1.87% growth recorded in Q1 2020 and higher than 0.11% recorded in Q4 of 2020. The consumer body Which? over a romance scam. Chair Lina M. Khan. Le Graet, who has been in office for 11 years and has a mandate until 2024, has previously faced sexual harassment allegations, which he rejects. In a blog post due to be released later this week and provided to Forbes ahead of publication, Palo Alto said it had assisted in the Interpol investigation and provided details on some of the individuals arrested. Perhaps the best-known Nigerian BEC fraudster is Ramon "Hushpuppi" Abbas, who. "Widowers, widows, divorcees, they really target those folks in a vulnerable state, pulling at their heart strings, all with the intent of separating them from their money," Crouch told ABC News in a phone interview. A Nigerian Instagram influencer known as @hushpuppi and the Billionaire Gucci Master admit ted in the U.S. to taking part in a scam to steal more than $1.1 million from a businessperson. Before stepping down earlier this year, Le Graet extended Didier Deschamps contract as national team manager until 2026. The NIBSS recounts that mobile-led fraud channels saw a 330% Year-on-Year growth in 2020. Penalties For Dating or Romance Scams in Nigeria. Action Fraud . According to data from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Nigeria gained at least 2.5 million Internet subscribers during the lockdown of April 2020. It added that the 33-year-old, who was arrested two years ago, used "subterfuge and impersonation" to lure his victims. 24/7 coverage of breaking news and live events. The 33 suspects were accused of stealing more than $17 million from at least 100 victims. Although mobile-led channels recorded the highest growth, it wasn't top of the list in enhancing financial fraud. They managed to fraudulently obtain $6m (5m) in a conspiracy aimed at stealing $46m, the US Attorney's Office alleges. One of the Nigerians, 51 year-old Irabor Fatarr Musa was indicted by the two districts. The way they dressed you could tell they were wealthy.". READ ALSO: BBNaija Season 6: Check Out Latest News For Day 63, And Week Recap. Announcing his resignation on Tuesday, the FFF stated it recognises the extraordinary sporting and economic accomplishments of Noel le Graet. As investigations continue to unfold, we are building a very clear picture of how such groups function and corrupt for financial gain. Copyright 20062023 Sahara Reporters, Inc. All rights reserved. . Cybersecurity company Palo Alto Networks tracks all BEC fraud coming out of Nigeria under the name SilverTerrier and has found that among the nearly 500 different actors involved, they were often connected through only a few degrees of separation on social media platforms, showing links between over 120 actors. This was contained . While members of the group have been arrested for cybercrime activities as far back as 2015, last weeks US arrests represent the biggest crackdown against Black Axes cybercrime operations. ( source: Spend Journal) Card fraud over the next decade is expected to cost the industry a collective $408.50 billion in global losses. 2021. Engaging in an online romance scam might result in criminal charges being brought against you in court. Other Americans fell victim to the defendants' romance scams, believing they were in romantic relationships with someone using an alias and, when requested, the victims sent money and items of value to South Africa, the indictment said. SaharaReporters.com is an outstanding, groundbreaking news website that encourages citizen journalists to report ongoing corruption and government malfeasance in Africa. Before becoming unwell, the poisoned females described smelling tangerine or rotting fish. Acting U.S. Attorney Prerak Shah stated at a press conference announcing the charges. All rights reserved, In 2020, Nigeria lost 5b to fraud in 9 months: What you need to watch out for, Journalist feasting on tech, business, and policies. With so many people being defrauded, the NIBSS identified social engineering, no 2-factor authentication, PIN compromise, internal collusion, card/phone theft, fake assistance, and several others as the major methods for fraudulent activities in 2020. Read about our approach to external linking. Only Turkey and Hungary have yet to approve Finland and Swedens applications to join the defensive alliance. "Honey, i don't know how you will take this," began one alleged scam message. Nigerias assistant inspector general of police, Garba Baba Umar, said that working with Interpol, he was able to give the order to hunt down these globally active criminals nationwide, flushing them out no matter where they tried to hide in my country., Craig Jones, Interpols director of cybercrime, added: Interpol is closing ranks on gangs like SilverTerrier. Few were surprised when they learned that Hushpuppi had pleaded guilty in April. The 81-year-old stepped aside in January to allow the French government to conduct an audit of the federation. The duo, accused of conspiring with many others to defraud the U.S. government by stealing identities to fraudulently claim unemployment benefits,. All he had to do was make a list of real people and then search through available databases of hacked information for their Social Security numbers and birthdates. The Border Guard expects a 3km prototype project at Imatra to be finished by the end of June. Global payment fraud has more than tripled in the last decade, from $9.84 billion in 2011 to $32.39 billion in 2021. Read about our approach to external linking. About the audit, it said, The FFF observes that the report is based less on objective facts than on opinions that have occasionally led to excessive bad-mouthing of the body.. One of the more shocking allegations was one claiming he worked with North Korean hackers to launder funds stolen from a Maltese bank. Approximately 33% of the victims were aged between 20 and 29, and 13% were aged between 70 and 79. Martin Lewis tells us the secret top tips to bagging a discount 'Money can't buy you a better cheeseburger', Billionaire Bill Gates talks to Amol Rajan about wealth, conspiracies and controversy, These are some of the rarest words in the Oxford English Dictionary. They will face indictment for money laundering and wire scam that defrauded over 100 people nationwide. The Federal Bureau of Investigation has nabbed Nigerian medical doctor, Patrick Nwaokwu, for his alleged involvement in multimillion-dollar healthcare fraud. Group-IB provided Forbes with an example phishing email, showing how the gang posed as legitimate employees and encouraged swift payment into their bank accounts. The arrests, which took place last week, targeted individuals part of Black Axe, a transnational organized crime syndicate originating from Nigeria and operating across the globe. Shah encourages victims to come forward and reassure them that the scams are more common than one might think more than 20,000 people lost $600 million in romance scams in 2020. 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. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. I have two daughters, one father shouted in a video widely shared on social media. The authorities have listed a total of 252 charges against the 80 suspects. Considering his behavior toward women, his statements, and the FFFs governance flaws, Mr Le Graet no longer has the required legitimacy to lead and represent French football, the investigation found earlier this month. Human error to blame for train crash - Greek PM, At the crash site of 'no hope' - BBC reporter in Greece. Authorities in the US, where the investigation originated and most of the alleged victims are based, have applied for their extradition. They are accused of using business email fraud schemes and romance scams to con victims - many of them elderly. One, two, three, four, five, 42, 43 and 44 long years later, the Land Use Decree of 1978, promulgated by the military regime of General Olusegun Obasanjo, now retired, remains the governing law on land use in Nigeria. The Paris-based FATF also added Nigeria, Africa's biggest economy, to its grey-list on Friday. "This case is part of our ongoing efforts to protect Americans from fraudulent online schemes and to bring to justice those who prey upon American citizens and businesses," he added. She got N1 million in the literary show. Collectively, Nigerias BEC groups make up a sprawling illicit industry. This was a 510% increase from the 550 million lost to fraudsters in the same period in 2019. A total of over N5.2 billion was reportedly lost to fraud during the first 9 months of 2020. Its parliament has begun discussing a measure to expedite the countrys application, with a vote scheduled for Wednesday. Appendices - Analysis of Fraud and Forgeries in the Nigerian Banking Industry Appendix I (A) A Comparison of Fraud Activities between First Quarter 2021 and Second Quarter 2021 S/N Variables First Quarter, 2021 Second Quarter, 2021 . Sen. Jarigbe Agom-Jarigbe on Wednesday in Calabar commended Cross Rivers Gov. The Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) has released its industry fraud report for Q3 2020. Many of these fraudsters - dubbed "yahoo-boys . Those aged 31 40 account for 27%, while people below 20 were the least defrauded with 6%. Nigeria and India have agreed to exchange vital intelligence on the activities of drug trafficking syndicates operating vulnerable drug routes between both countries, while the latter will also strengthen the capacity of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), officers with training. Techpremier Media Limited. Of this number, people over 40-years of age fell prey to fraudsters the most, with 33.97% accounting for the total number of defrauded persons. Mobile devices recorded the highest growth . The Nigerian Police Force (NPF) has arrested 11 alleged members of a prolific cybercrime network as part of a national police operation coordinated with INTERPOL. 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