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."
Many
co-conspirators, Mrozek said, are still in Nigeria, with others also at large
in the U.S. and other countries.
