Business
Nigeria-based Women Group Excels at Fidelity Bank’s International Trade and Creative Fair Debut in Houston

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Business
Businessman sentenced in $180m bank fraud that paid for lavish lifestyle, classic cars

CLEVELAND (AP) — A businessman who orchestrated a $180 million check-kiting scheme and used the proceeds to live a lavish lifestyle and amass one of the world’s most revered classic car collections has been sentenced to more than eight years in prison.
Najeeb Khan, 70, of Edwardsburg, Michigan, told a federal judge Thursday that he was “blinded by greed” to carry out the scheme and buy more than 250 cars, as well as airplanes, boats and a helicopter, according to Cleveland.com. Besides receiving a 97-month sentence, he must pay $121 million in restitution to Cleveland-based KeyBank, $27 million to clients and $9.8 million in back taxes.
Authorities have said Khan carried out the fraud from 2011-2019 while growing his payroll processing business in Elkhart, Indiana. He funneled dozens, sometimes hundreds, of checks and wire transfers with insufficient funds through three banks, artificially inflating the amount in his accounts. He siphoned off about $73 million for himself.
He used the money to fund a lavish lifestyle that included expensive vacations, mansions in Arizona and Michigan and properties in Florida and Montana, as well as planes and yachts. His massive car collection included pristine vintage Ferraris, Fiats and Jaguars.
Khan had plead guilty to bank fraud and attempted tax evasion. His attorneys said he had helped his victims recover some funds, in part by selling off his car collection that fetched about $40 million at auction.
Prosecutors said that when Khan’s scheme collapsed, about 1,700 of his clients lost out on money Khan’s company had withdrawn for payroll taxes. Those companies included small- and mid-sized businesses, nonprofits and charities, including the Boy Scouts of America and four Catholic dioceses.
Some victims had to pay the IRS or their employees out of their own pockets or take out lines of credit, prosecutors said. Others laid off employees.
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Business
Houston’s Mayor, Sylvester Turner at the FITCC Event – Spectacular Photos

Houston’s Mayor, Sylvester Turner, attended the Fidelity International Trade & Creative Connect (FITCC) conference where he gave an opening speech emphasizing the significance of hosting such a global event in the fourth-largest city in the United States. October 24-25, Fidelity Bank Plc. Nigeria premiered this international trade and creative fair attracting the brightest minds and industry leaders to explore the ever-evolving landscape of international trade, exports, and creative connections.

Houston’s Mayor, Sylvester Turner is being introduced to Mustafa Chike-Obi, Chairman of Fidelity Bank Nigeria by event facilitator, Linda Anukwuem.

Houston’s Mayor, Sylvester Turner is being introduced to the President of Afreximbank, Professor Benedict Oramah
To Mayor Turner, this event meant so much to his administrative agenda regarding global commerce. For instance, he just led a three-country trade mission to West Africa. He will out-serve his tenure next month, making this event his last endeavor to strengthen the City’s business ties with Africa.

Houston’s Mayor, Sylvester Turner greets the President of Afreximbank, Professor Benedict Oramah
Houston is designated as a hub for international commerce, known as the energy capital of the world, and a global leader in healthcare, aeronautics, advanced manufacturing, and innovation. Besides having the largest Nigerian population in the country, the city remains the most diverse, with over 2.5 million residents. The city also holds the largest port in the U.S. in foreign tonnage, two international airports, and the largest medical center in the world. In addition, more than 5,000 Houston companies are engaged in international business, and approximately 1,000 Houston firms report foreign ownership.
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Business
FITCC Partners with Texas Southern University

Partnership with the Texas Southern adds a new dimension to this event. For example, besides the SOC, the partnership will also include the Mickey Leland Center, Jesse Jones Business School, and the Barbara Jordan School of Public Affairs.
Fidelity International Trade & Creative Connect (FITCC) is collaborating with Texas Southern University (TSU) to engage student professionals in communication and to facilitate pre-event and on-site media coverage for the two-day trade fair. Paid student volunteers will write articles, shoot videos, and conduct on-the-scene interviews during the event. TSU’s Interim Dean of the School of Communications (SOC), Dr. Chris Ulasi confirmed this development, adding that “the SOC students have always excelled in collaborative coverage of major national and global events.”
Ulasi was right. In 2022, for instance, TSU joined Morgan State University in an all-expenses paid trip to the Monterey Jazz Festival (MJF) in Monterey, California, where the TSU’s Jazz Ensemble, University Choir, and Journalism department joined 20 other jazz and choir students from Morgan State University, to perform. In the same period, a team of TSU journalists traveled to Washington, D.C., for the Democracy Summit at Howard University. The Democracy Summit brought in students from TSU and six other HBCUs, including Morehouse, Morgan State, Savannah State, Florida A&M, North Carolina A&T, and North Carolina Central University.
Texas Southern University (TSU) student professionals in communication will facilitate pre-event and on-site media coverage for the two-day event. Photo by Arthur Murray (SOC-TSU)
The FITCC is one-of-its-kind. On October 24-25, at the George R. Brown (GRB) Convention Center in Houston, the Fidelity Bank Plc. Nigeria will premier this international trade and creative fair called Fidelity International Trade & Creative Connect (FITCC). The event is expected to attract thousands of participants from all over the world. These attendees would interact with the brightest minds and industry leaders who would exchange ideas, create trade/business partnerships, and navigate the ever-evolving landscape of international trade, exports, and creative connections.
As fundamental objectives, the FITCC conference will address the limitless market opportunities between Nigeria and the U.S. marketplace. The sole facilitator, Fidelity Bank Plc. Nigeria is a popular international commercial banking entity with over 7.2 million customers serviced across 250 business offices and other digital banking networks. The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Bank, Mrs. Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe said that the Bank has very much invested in supporting export trade.
Partnership with the Texas Southern adds a new dimension to this event. For example, besides the SOC, the partnership will also include the Mickey Leland Center, Jesse Jones Business School, and the Barbara Jordan School of Public Affairs. Deans and faculty members are invited for research-based presentations and speaking engagements. In addition, Exhibitor Booths will be provided for TSU, and space will be provided for the KTSU2 radio station.
SOC Students in action: Partnership with the Texas Southern adds a new dimension to this event. Photo by Arthur Murray (SOC-TSU)
According to The President of AIX LLC, the Houston-based facilitator of the conference, Linda Anukwuem, “Our partnership with TSU will allow a working collaboration with the students depending on their choice of study. We are excited about their participation and cannot wait to release more details soon.”
These students will also have the opportunity to meet or interview various dignitaries, including Mayor Sylvester Turner, Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe (CEO & Managing Director) of Fidelity Bank Nigeria, and Her Excellency Engr. Tamunominini Olufunke Makinde (First Lady of Oyo State, Nigeria), Benedict Oramah (President – Afrieximbank), Engr. Henry Obih (Independent Director-Fidelity Bank Nigeria), Ufo Eric-Atuanya (Senior Vice President, Global Business Development – Export-Import Bank of the US), 97.9 The Box – G.T. Mayne.
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