US yoinks six Nigerians to Mississippi on '419 scam' charges

[TerranceBoyce]

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2015/07/14 ... 419_scams/

14 Jul 2015

Not a prince among ‘em

The US Department of Justice has successfully extradited six Nigerians from South Africa to face charges of running a series of scams against gullible Americans over the past 14 years.

The six men, along with 14 other defendants resident in the US, face trial in Gulfport, Mississippi on nine federal charges, including conspiracy to commit identity theft, wire fraud, bank fraud, theft of US government funds, and conspiracy to commit money laundering.

The team is also accused of running romance stings to bilk the lonely of funds, shipping fraud, running fake work-from-home businesses, check fraud, and plain-old hijacking of other people's bank accounts and credit cards to divert funds.

[HillBilly]

here is the official press release from the US DoJ :
http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/six-niger ... ud-charges
( I reformatted some of the colors and bold print to make for easier reading).

Department of Justice
Office of Public Affairs
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, July 13, 2015
Six Nigerian Nationals Extradited from South Africa to Mississippi to Face Fraud Charges
Six Nigerian nationals were extradited from South Africa to Gulfport, Mississippi, to face a nine-count federal indictment in the Southern District of Mississippi alleging various Internet fraud schemes. A total of 20 defendants are charged in this case.

Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Gregory K. Davis of the Southern District of Mississippi made the announcement.

Oladimeji Seun Ayelotan, 30; Rasaq Aderoju Raheem, 31; Olusegun Seyi Shonekan, 33; Taofeeq Olamilekan Oyelade, 30; Olufemi Obaro Omoraka, 26; and Anuoluwapo Segun Adegbemigun, 39, are charged along with 15 others in an Oct. 7, 2014, indictment with conspiracy to commit mail fraud, wire fraud, bank fraud, conspiracy to commit identity theft, use of unauthorized account access devices, theft of U.S. government funds and conspiracy to commit money laundering. The charges stem from the defendants alleged participation in numerous Internet-based complex financial fraud schemes, including romance scams, re-shipping scams, fraudulent check scams and work-at-home scams, as well as bank, financial and credit card account takeovers.

According to the allegations in the indictment, from as early as 2001, the defendants identified and solicited potential victims through online dating websites and work-at-home opportunities. In some instances, the defendants allegedly carried on fictitious online romantic relationships with victims for the purpose of using the victims to further certain objectives of the conspiracy. For example, the indictment alleges that the defendants convinced victims to ship and receive merchandise purchased with stolen personal identifying information (PII) and compromised credit card and banking information, to deposit counterfeit checks, and to transfer proceeds of the conspiracy via wire, U.S. mail or express delivery services.

To date, defendants Teslim Olarewaju Kiriji, 30; Olutoyin Ogunlade, 41; and Dennis Brian Ladden, 75, have been convicted of offenses relating to their roles in the schemes. Defendants Susan Anne Villeneuve, 49; and Genoveva Farfan, 45; Sesan Olumide Farin, 40; Femi Alexander Mewase, 44; Rhulane Fionah Hlungwane, 24; and Adekunle Adefila, 40, are awaiting trial. The United States is seeking extradition from Nigeria of defendants Kayode Bamidele, Ajayi Oluwaseyi Stephen and Emmanuel Adeniyi Osokomaiya. Defendants Gabriel Oludare Adeniran and Oduntan Sikiru Lawani remain fugitives.

The charges and allegations in the indictment are merely accusations. A defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.

This case is being investigated by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. Significant assistance was also provided by the Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs, the HSI Cyber Crimes Center, HSI Attachés in Pretoria and Dakar, U.S. Marshals Service’s International Investigations Branch and the Southern District of Mississippi, the South African Police Service (SAPS) Directorate of Priority Crimes Investigation (DPCI) Electronic Crimes Unit, the SAPS Interpol Extradition Unit, the South African National Prosecution Authority, and the South African Department of Justice and Constitutional Development. The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Robert Tully of the Criminal Division’s Organized Crime Gang Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Annette Williams and Scott Gilbert of the Southern District of Mississippi.

# # #

If you believe that you may have been a victim of criminal fraud committed by any of the defendants, please go to http://www.justice.gov/usao-sdms/scams and complete the questionnaire using the password scams. Defendants allegedly used the following email addresses and names to perpetuate the scheme:

[email protected] [email protected]

[email protected] [email protected]

[email protected] [email protected]

[email protected] [email protected]

[email protected] [email protected]

[email protected] [email protected]

[email protected] [email protected]

[email protected] [email protected]

[email protected] [email protected]

[email protected] [email protected]

[email protected] [email protected]

[email protected] [email protected]

[email protected] [email protected]

[email protected] [email protected]

[email protected] [email protected]

[email protected] [email protected]

[email protected] [email protected]

[email protected] [email protected]

[email protected] [email protected]

[email protected] [email protected]

[email protected] [email protected]

[email protected] [email protected]

[email protected]

Richard Wasser Adeline Piper

Glenn Sattelberg Folly Edwards

Samuel Maxwell Stacy Adams

Regina Darwin Justin Worsham

Marlon Chase Karen Robinson

Dickson Jones Mark Miller

Kimberly Faye Mark Smith

Lorene M. Garrett John Gervino

Mark Gentile Sarah Powell

Kevin Smith Anita Lauren

Any information that you provide through the questionnaire may be helpful in the criminal investigation and prosecution of this case. A federal investigator may contact you with additional questions or to request documents you may have. Please note that submitting the questionnaire is not a substitute for consulting with your own attorney to determine what actions and remedies may be available to you through civil litigation. If you have any questions related to this matter that are not addressed at the above websites, you may contact federal law enforcement authorities at [email protected].

Ayelotan Second Superseding Indictment ( in .pdf format) : http://www.justice.gov/opa/file/629416/download

[HillBilly]

Nigerian citizen sentenced in fraud conspiracy
One sentenced in internet fraud scheme

Published 3:44 PM CDT Aug 21, 2015

http://www.wapt.com/news/nigerian-citiz ... y/34850394

GULFPORT, Miss. —A Nigerian citizen, one of 21 people indicted in an Internet fraud scheme, has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for his role in the conspiracy.

U.S. Attorney Gregory Davis says in a news release that 30-year-old Teslim Olarewaju Kiriji of Lagos, Nigeria and Brownsburg, Indiana, was sentenced Thursday for conspiracy to commit money laundering.

Davis says Kiriji pleaded guilty to being part of an Internet-based scheme to defraud others through work-at-home and secret-shopper scams. Davis says the scheme allegedly involved bogus checks, money orders and traveler's checks and the purchase of "high dollar" items with fraudulent credit card accounts.

The criminal case was filed after Homeland Security Investigations in Gulfport received a complaint from a Biloxi woman who reported she thought she'd been the victim of a scam.