The United States government has arraigned 11 Nigerians over
allegations of $6 million fraud.
This is contained in a statement issued by the US attorney’s
office, District of New Jersey.
The defendants were identified as Sulaiman Dosunmu, 39; Tunde Adeowo, 40; Muritala Adeowo, 55;
Ayanniyi Alayande, 47; Ahmmed Ponle, 41; Margiettu Kamu, 34; Rafiat Sarumi, 36;
Babatunde Oke, 40; Adekunle Owolabi, 49; Olayinka Olaseinde, 42; and Olugbenga
Oyedele, 47.
The suspects were accused of committing fraud in several
states, including New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Rhode Island, between
June 2016 and March 2020.
Craig Carpenito, US attorney, said members of the group
laundered the proceeds of the fraud by several means, including using debit
cards to purchase money orders from third party stores and using those money
orders to purchase used automobiles which were later sold in Nigeria and other
African countries.
“The defendants are allegedly members of a Nigeria-based,
multi-layered organization that engaged in a massive bank fraud conspiracy in
several states, including New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Rhode Island,
between June 2016 and March 2020,” the statement read.
“Members of the group stole numerous business checks from
the United States mail, altered the payee on the checks to a fraudulent name
and deposited the checks in bank accounts that had been opened with forged
foreign passport documents and fraudulent U.S. visas that matched the names on
the stolen checks.
“Once the banks credited all or a portion of the funds to
the accounts – but before the checks had cleared – the defendants withdrew the
funds from ATMs or purchased money orders, using debit cards associated with
the fraudulent accounts. Members of the organization have used over 400
fraudulent accounts with fake identity documents to defraud the banks.
“The organization also laundered the proceeds of the fraud
by several means, including using debit cards to purchase money orders from
third party stores and using those money orders to purchase used automobiles
from different automobile auction companies in Pennsylvania. The vehicles were
then exported to Nigeria and other countries in Africa to launder the stolen
funds and to increase profits by selling the vehicles at the higher market
values obtained for vehicles in these foreign countries.
“The bank fraud conspiracy count carries a maximum potential
penalty of 30 years in prison and a maximum fine of $1 million.”
This development is coming just as the Federal Bureau of
Investigation (FBI) has asked for assistance in finding six Nigerians who the
US indicted for fraud.
The suspects aged between 32 and
37, “defrauded US citizens through the use of sensitive information and
financial resources derived by manipulative means”.
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