Nigerian man faces 20-year jail term in US for 419
A Nigerian man could face a prison term of up to 20 years in the US after he was convicted Tuesday February 16, 2010 for advance fee fraud scams, popularly known in Africa as 419.
The US media quoting the US Department said the 31-year-old Nigerian, Okpako Mike Diamreyan has been running the scam for five years.
He is said to have lived in Nigeria, the US and Ghana between August 2004 and August 2009. During these periods he has been running the scams that involved sending emails and making phone calls to prospective victims.
The scams involved posing as a government or bank official, sending fake documents to victims and luring them to send money through the Western Union Money Transfer with the false promise that they will a part of a greater sum of money later.
Diamreyan is scheduled for sentencing in the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut on May 7. He could also face a fine of $250,000 for each of three wire fraud counts, the Department of Justice was cited as saying by the reports.
The top three countries for AFF losses in 2009 were the U.S. at $2.1 billion, U.K. at $1.2 billion and China at $936 million, according to figures released last month by Ultrascan, a Dutch private investigations company. The figures are estimates based only on the cases Ultrascan has seen, and the actual fraud figures are likely much higher, according to Ultrascan.
By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi
This is a another typical case of a Nigerian fraudster using the name of Ghana for evil. I have another version of the story to confirm the wicked deeds of some of these Nigerians.The Ghana government should act fast before they bring our name into disrepute!
Nigerian national charged for Internet “advance fee” fraud scheme
February 17th, 2010 – 5:08 am ICT by BNO News –
HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT (BNO NEWS) – A Nigerian man was found guilty for wire fraud in Connecticut, U.S. Attorney Nora R. Dannehy said Tuesday.
Okpako Mike Diamreyan, 31, is a citizen of Nigeria who occasionally resided in Accra, Ghana and was stemming “advance fee” fraud scams through the Internet.
The scheme victimized people who were persuaded to give an advance payment in order to obtain a larger sum of money that never materialized.
Diamreyan would claim he had a “consignment” stored in Ghana containing amounts ranging from $11.5 million to $23.4 million, offering the victims 20 percent of the amount if they would help him transfer the money to the United States.
Providing fraudulent documents to the victims, he would prove the existence of the money, identifying himself with differnet names like Prince Nana Kamokai of Sierra Leone, General Odu Kuffour of Ghana, and the Rev. Dr. Richard Camaro, airport director in Accra, Ghana.
He carried out the schemes from August 2004 to August 2009, defrauding residents of Connecticut and other parts of the country.
Diamreyan is scheduled to appear on May 7 for sentencing, as he now faces a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years and a fine of up to $250,000, on each of the three counts.