The United States Department of Justice
has indicted a total of 80 people, many of them Nigerians, in connection to
massive fraud and money laundering.
Thom
Mrozek, a spokesperson for
the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of California, disclosed on
Thursday, August 22, 2019 that 14 suspects were arrested in raids carried out
across the U.S.
Two defendants were already in federal custody
on other charges, and one was arrested earlier this week.
Many
co-conspirators, Mrozek said, are still in Nigeria, with others also at large
in the U.S. and other countries.
"We believe this is one of the largest cases of its kind in
US history," United States
Attorney for the Central District of California, Nick Hanna, said during a press conference on
Thursday.
In a 252-count federal
grand jury indictment unsealed on Thursday, the defendants are accused of
participating in a massive conspiracy to steal millions of dollars through a
variety of fraud schemes and launder the funds through a Los Angeles-based
money laundering network.
The network duped dozens
of victims in the U.S., Colombia, China, The Caribbean, Germany, Japan, Mexico,
the United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom.
31-year-old Valentine Iro and
38-year-old Chukwudi Christogunus Igbokwe,
both Nigerians, were used by the network for bank and money-service accounts
that could receive funds fraudulently obtained from victims.
Both defendants are
accused of being involved in schemes resulting in the fraudulent transfer of at
least $6 million in fraudulently-obtained funds; and the overall conspiracy was
responsible for the attempted theft of at least an additional $40 million.
Iro and Igbokwe
allegedly collected bank accounts, fielded requests for bank account
information, provided that information to co-conspirators around the world, and
laundered the money obtained from victims.
They did this in
exchange for a cut of the money stolen from victims of the various fraud
schemes.
"Once members of the conspiracy convinced victims to send
money under false pretenses, Iro and Igbokwe coordinated the receipt of funds
and oversaw an extensive money-laundering network," Mrozek said.
The
alleged fraudsters targeted victims in the US and across the globe, including
individuals, small and large businesses, and law firms.
Eight elderly American
victims lost thousands of dollars to romance scams and other fraudulent
get-rich-quick schemes.
"Today, we have taken a major step to disrupt criminal
networks that use BEC schemes, romance scams and other frauds to fleece
victims.
"This indictment sends a message that we will identify
perpetrators - no matter where they reside - and we will cut off the flow of
ill-gotten gains," United
States Attorney, Nick Hanna,
said.
In the indictment that
was unsealed on Thursday, the suspects are on the hook for conspiracy to engage
in money laundering; conspiracy to commit wire fraud, mail fraud, and bank
fraud; wire and bank fraud; and money laundering.
Other charges include
engaging in monetary transactions in property derived from specified unlawful
activity; operating an unlicensed money transmitting business; destruction of
property to prevent seizure; false statements; aggravated identity theft;
aiding and abetting; and criminal forfeiture.
The Assistant Director in Charge of the Los Angeles
Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Paul Delacourt, disclosed that the agency is
working with security agencies in nine countries to apprehend 57 defendants.
He said the case
involves 32 confirmed victims located in the U.S., Japan, UK, Lebanon, Ukraine,
China, Mexico, Germany, Indonesia, UAE and Trinidad and Tobago.
"It shows the extensive reach of the cybercriminals involved
in this kind of schemes," he
said.
The losses in the case,
he said, are approximately $10 million.
Delacourt warned
citizens to be aware of sophisticated financial schemes to protect themselves
or their businesses from becoming unsuspecting victims.
"The FBI is committed to working with our partner agencies
worldwide to continue to identify these cyber criminals and to dismantle their
networks," he said.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S.
Attorneys, Anil J. Antony and Joseph B. Woodring, of the Cyber and Intellectual
Property Crimes Section.
"If convicted," Hanna
said, "all of the defendants face potential decades in federal
prison."
Somizi and Mohale got engaged in March 2018 during a romantic trip to Paris.
The wedding date of South African media personality, Somizi Mhlongo and his actor fiancé, Mohale Motaung has been revealed after a long wait.
The love birds have been enmeshed in planning their wedding and it's been revealed they will be walking down the aisle in January 2020. Somizi announced their wedding date in an Instagram post in which he thanked his London-based friend for meeting up with him in Italy for lunch and catch-up.
He wrote;
This is the highlight of my trip. I haven’t seen the very great friend of mine in more than 4 years. He’s based in London. So when he saw that I’m in Italy he decided to fly to Venice just to catch up over lunch. We’ve been friends since 1994. @danmoyo I love u and appreciate u. The most generous ppl I know. Thanks @luismunana for yo love and heart. Me and bae @mohale_77 can’t wait to host u guys at our white wedding in Jan.
Ziggy Marley, the son of late legendaryJamaican singer, Bob Marleyhas revealed he started smoking marijuana at the age of nine, with the blessing of his reggae legend father.
The 50-year-old, who followed in his father’s footsteps to become a musician is a Rastafarian like his father, who died in 1981 aged just 36.
He admitted he was ‘too young’ to start smoking the drug but said it was always a common thing in the Rastafarian culture.
‘Smoking marijuana wasn’t considered a bad thing in Rastafarian culture’, he told Reader’s Digest. ‘It wasn’t something to hide from the kids.
‘I can’t even remember when I had my first “spliff”, I was around nine. I was very young, too young.’
The singer admitted that if not for his father's blessing he wouldnt have started smoking at a young age.
‘I wouldn’t have let myself do it in my father’s place’, he explained.
But it was a part of our religion - we’re one of those ancient cultures with traditions that modern society wouldn’t accept.’
He explained that he didn’t smoke marijuana for ‘fun’ and instead used it to heighten his spirituality.
‘When I first consciously decided to smoke weed as a teenager, I approached it from a spiritual point of view’, he went on.
‘It’s given me more insight into myself and into my spirituality, and I use it as a form of influence when reading scriptures and books about spirituality. I use it to give me a different perspective so that my mind isn’t in the same place that it normally is. I turn into a shaman.
‘It was never just about getting high - I educated myself about it in terms of how Yogis in India use it and I went down that route with it, I didn’t go down the “fun” route.’
Jada Pinkett Smith has credited the use of sex toys for her successful marriage to Will Smith.
The celebrity couple have been married for 22 years and Jada confessed the reason her marriage has lasted over two decades is their spicy sex life.
She told The Sun's Bizarre column: "People are shocked about my love for using sex toys. I know damn well I'm not the only one that uses them. Nobody has to feel any shame about it but I'm still surprised how people relate to sex, specifically female sexuality - it's still such a taboo."
The Red Table Talk host also said opening up about their marriage problems has brought her and Smith, 50, closer and she hopes it inspires others when they see that their relationship isn't perfect.
She said: "Will and I really wanted to dissolve the myths that surround partnerships that are in the public eye, as if they're easy. Those partnerships are going through the exact kind of difficulties everyone else is going through. We got a lot of positive responses from people in our industry. I think it gave people the opportunity to sit down with their partner."
The mother-of-two previously admitted her relationship with Smith is not a "conventional marriage".
She said: "I knew that I was not built for conventional marriage. Even the word 'wife': it's a golden cage, swallow the key. Even before I was married, I was like, 'That'll kill me.' And it damn near did! So why wouldn't you share what you've been through, when you see that other people are out there, trying to figure this crap out? We decided to make it public because it's part of the healing. I feel like if we don't have real understanding about it, I don't know if interpersonal relationships are possible."
Paul
Okoye of P-Square, who is currently in the studio making music as Rudeboy,
wrote on his Twitter page that PSquare's hit song was Bank Alert was supposed
to be his first solo video.
According
to people in the know, Paul wrote, produced and sang the hit song all by
himself and it was supposed to be his first effort as a solo artist after P-Square
broke up last year. But before he could shoot the video, he made up with his
twin brother, Peter and so they decided to make
The
German bodyguard who started working with the Kardashian family in 2012 was
sacked in November last year after Kim was robbed at gunpoint in Paris during
his absence. She lost $11million worth of jewels during the robbery.
The
suspects were later arrested and last week, the mastermind behind Kim
Kardashian West's Paris robbery reportedly sent an apology letter to her,
apologizing for the psychological pain he caused.
Former
Niger Delta militant leader, Asari Dokubo, has insisted that the current
Nigerian President, Muhammadu Buhari, was cloned in London.
Asari
predicated his claim on the fact that the president struggled to deliver his
Independent Day speech.
The
former Militant leader maintained that while the president was reading his
speech, it would be observed that the “man they have in Aso Rock” was “trying
to mimic” the original Buhari.
In
a video which surfaced online yesterday, Dokubo said, “A lot of people have
been wishing me happy Independence but I told them not to, because I’m not a
Nigerian.
“So
this man they have in Aso Rock was speaking, even from his voice, you will know
that he was cloned.
“You
know that there is this thing called cloning, most western judo-Christian
country pretend to say they banned human cloning except for the purpose of
research into health and to save life.
Former
Niger Delta militant leader, Asari Dokubo, has insisted that the current
Nigerian President, Muhammadu Buhari, was cloned in London.
Asari
predicated his claim on the fact that the president struggled to deliver his
Independent Day speech.
The former Militant leader maintained that while the president was reading his
speech, it would be observed that the “man they have in Aso Rock” was “trying
to mimic” the original Buhari.
In
a video which surfaced online yesterday, Dokubo said, “A lot of people have
been wishing me happy Independence but I told them not to, because I’m not a
Nigerian.
“So
this man they have in Aso Rock was speaking, even from his voice, you will know
that he was cloned.
“You
know that there is this thing called cloning, most western judo-Christian
country pretend to say they banned human cloning except for the purpose of
research into health and to save life.
“So we will not be surprised if they did some sort of cloning in all the period
this man was incubating in Abuja House in London.
“The
way he was talking, you will notice that he was trying to mimic the original
one but he didn’t succeed, we were not deceived.”
As Baba Legba and the other
market leaders got to The Iya Oloja's house they were amused by what they saw.
Baba Legba and the others dusted their shoes as they entered her office. Mama
Ogbonna shouted at Stainless asking him how he got there before them. They were
supposed to have a meeting with The Iya Oloja and her council members. Elder
Silas took his seat in astonishment. Elder Silas tried to talk to Stainless but
Stainless hissed and looked the other way. Baba Legba didn't bother about
Stainless and his weird behaviour. He began to explain to The Iya Oloja why
they requested to have a meeting with her. Baba Legba was tired of Kamoru and
his boys. Everyone in Oke-Imosan market were fed up of the harassment and
troubles of the agbeeros in the market. Kamoru and his boys had become a torn
in their flesh. As Baba Legba was trying to report Kamoru and his boys The Iya Oloja
told him to keep his mouth shut. She commanded him to sit down. The Iya Oloja
got up and began to role out new rules. She pronounced Stainless as the new market
leader. She told Baba Legba that the levy for drivers in the market has increased
to double the former amount. She also told Mama Ogbonna that she has also doubled
the levy of the market sellers as well and they must also pay Kamoru's boys their
daily collection. Mama Ogbonna wishpered to Baba Legba that she warned him about
how sneaky and cunning Stainless was. The Iya Oloja commanded that anyone who defaults
the law will be kicked out of the market. Elder Silas collapsed as The Iya
Oloja finished her statement. Baba Legba didn't understand what was happening.
His mouth stayed open for more than five minutes. He couldn't phantom how
Stainless could betray them. Stainless couldn't careless about how they felt. He
drew closer to Baba Legba and told him that -I'm now the market leader.
Many
co-conspirators, Mrozek said, are still in Nigeria, with others also at large
in the U.S. and other countries.
