There were Multiple Men involved in Nigerian Romantic Love Scams Indicted for Money Laundering Conspiracy.
The Men were conspiring to launder fraudulent funds that were scammed as a result of Nigerian task force targeting multiple victims.Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Trent Shores of the Northern District of Oklahoma and Special Agent in Charge Melissa Godbold of the FBI’s Oklahoma City Field Office made the announcement earlier this past week.
The Charged allegations was returned by a federal grand jury in October and unsealed in November after seven suspects were apprehended in early morning operations executed by the FBI in three states. Five defendants were arrested in Norman, Oklahoma, one defendant was arrested in Brooklyn, New York, and one defendant was arrested in Long Beach, California.
There are still a few Men that remain at large.The indictment says since 2017, the alleged men concealed the proceeds of The love scam operations by laundering money between and among multiple bank accounts that were opened by false identities & documents. Agents identified at least 3 victims in multiple states including Ohio.The formal charges allege the love scammers coordinated with on line dating sites under false identities and social media platforms with the intent to defraud victims. The scammers told the victims that they were working over seas.
The investigation revealed that these individuals were located in Nigeria. At the early stages of the “Romantic Scam,” victims would receive requests for gifts as small tokens of their love, such as iTunes gift cards and cell phones. As the relationships progressed, the requests would develop into substantially larger sums of money for their work or to travel back to the states.
Then continuing to scam the victims and purchasing large items like vehicles and other lavish gifts opening New fraudulent accounts.Below is a list of the alleged criminals that were apprehended by FBI.
The captured criminals all had residing addresses in Norman, Oklahoma, TX and CA,NYAfeez Olajide Adebara, 34, U.S. citizen Oluwaseun John Ogundele, 30, U.S. citizen John Ogundele, 30, registered US CitizenJoshua Nnandom Ditep, 25, Nigerian citizen and U.S. Paul Usoro, 25, Nigerian citizen of the U.S. Chibuzo Godwin Obiefuna Jr, 26, U.S. citizen Jamiu Ibukun Adedeji, 23, citizen of Nigeria, Tobiloba Kehinde, 27, citizen of Nigeria Additional Information the citizens indicted #1, maintained an address in Brooklyn, New York. #2, additional address in Dallas TX, and #3, maintained an address in Dallas TX.
This indictment is only part of an on going national effort by the DOJ to address online scams often based out of Nigeria that target U.S. citizens. The public is encouraged to report any potential online fraud or scam activity to the FBI Website at https://www.ic3.gov/.The details contained in the alleged documents are just that alleged. The defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.The FBI’s Oklahoma City Field Office investigated with special assistance from agents in San Francisco, New York and Los Angeles Field Offices. Assistant Chief Tracee Plowell and Justice Trial Attorneys Michelle Pascucci and David Stier of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Nassar of the Northern District of Oklahoma are prosecuting the case.