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U.S. Attorney Announces Charges Against 11 Members Of Money Laundering And Bank Fraud Ring

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2 years ago

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Over 50 Victims Sent More Than $9 Million to Defendants as a Result of Online Fraud Schemes

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Ten defendants – ADEDAYO JOHN, 32, OLUWADAMILOLA AKINPELU, 26, KAZEEM RAHEEM, 29, MORAKINYO GBEYIDE, 39, WARRIS ADENUGA, a/k/a “Blue,” 26, LATEEF GOLOBA, 27, SAMSONDEEN GOLOBA, 29, OLAWALE OLANIYAN, 41, OLAWOYIN PETER OLAREWAJU, 34, and EMMANUEL ORONSAYE-AJAYI, 30 – are each charged with one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.  Nine defendants – ADEDAYO JOHN, 32, SMART AGUNBIADE, 28, OLUWADAMILOLA AKINPELU, 26, MORAKINYO GBEYIDE, 39, WARRIS ADENUGA, a/k/a “Blue,” 26, LATEEF GOLOBA, 27, SAMSONDEEN GOLOBA, 29, OLAWOYIN PETER OLAREWAJU, 34, and EMMANUEL ORONSAYE-AJAYI, 30 – are each charged with one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison.  One defendant – MORAKINYO GBEYIDE, 39 –

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Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Patrick J. Freaney, the Special Agent-in-Charge of the New York Field Office of the United States Secret Service (“Secret Service”), announced today the unsealing of an Indictment charging 11 defendants with conspiracy to commit money laundering, conspiracy to commit bank fraud, and aggravated identity theft, in connection with their involvement in laundering millions of dollars in proceeds derived from business email compromises and romance fraud schemes.  Nine defendants were arrested today in the District of New Jersey and the Eastern District of New York, and will be presented this afternoon before United States Magistrate Judge Sarah Netburn in the Southern District of New York.  One defendant was arrested in the Southern District of Texas, and will be presented today in that district’s federal court.  One defendant remains at large.

U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “As alleged, the defendants were part of a criminal enterprise that not only defrauded businesses by assuming the online identities of legitimate counterparties, but also preyed on vulnerable elderly people, deceiving victims into sending money in phony romance scams.  Thanks to the Secret Service, the defendants are now facing federal felony charges.”

Secret Service Special Agent-in-Charge Patrick J. Freaney said: “As the continued threat posed by cyber enabled fraud remains ever present, the U.S. Secret Service remains steadfast in its pursuit of those who threaten our collective financial security. This case is no exception, as the defendants allegedly utilized a myriad of fraud schemes, to include romance scams and business email compromises, to defraud over 50 victims in excess of $9 million. Due to the efforts of the Secret Service and our partners at the New York City Police Department Financial Crimes Task Force, this organized group will no longer be able to operate its alleged scheme to defraud and will answer the charges brought against them in the Southern District of New York.”

As alleged in the Indictment unsealed in Manhattan federal court[1]:

ADEDAYO JOHN, OLUWADAMILOLA AKINPELU, KAZEEM RAHEEM, MORAKINYO GBEYIDE, WARRIS ADENUGA, a/k/a “Blue,” SMART AGUNBIADE, LATEEF GOLOBA, SAMSONDEEN GOLOBA, OLAWALE OLANIYAN, OLAWOYIN PETER OLAREWAJU, and EMMANUEL ORONSAYE-AJAYI (collectively, the “Defendants”) participated in one or both of a money laundering conspiracy and bank fraud conspiracy, which received funds stolen from victims.

Victims were typically defrauded in one of two ways.  In some instances, business email compromise fraud schemes were used to trick businesses into transferring funds to bank accounts the victims believed were under the control of legitimate recipients of the funds as part of normal business operations, when in fact the bank accounts were under the control of the Defendants or their co-conspirators.  In other instances, romance scams were used, primarily through electronic messages sent via email, text messaging, social media, or online dating websites, to deceive victims – many of whom were vulnerable older men and women – into believing they were in romantic relationships with fake identities, and then using false pretenses to cause the victims to transfer funds to bank accounts controlled by the Defendants or their co-conspirators.

As a result of these frauds, law enforcement officers have identified more than 50 victims who have transferred more than $9 million to bank accounts under the control of the Defendants.

Ten defendants – ADEDAYO JOHN, 32, OLUWADAMILOLA AKINPELU, 26, KAZEEM RAHEEM, 29, MORAKINYO GBEYIDE, 39, WARRIS ADENUGA, a/k/a “Blue,” 26, LATEEF GOLOBA, 27, SAMSONDEEN GOLOBA, 29, OLAWALE OLANIYAN, 41, OLAWOYIN PETER OLAREWAJU, 34, and EMMANUEL ORONSAYE-AJAYI, 30 – are each charged with one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.  Nine defendants – ADEDAYO JOHN, 32, SMART AGUNBIADE, 28, OLUWADAMILOLA AKINPELU, 26, MORAKINYO GBEYIDE, 39, WARRIS ADENUGA, a/k/a “Blue,” 26, LATEEF GOLOBA, 27, SAMSONDEEN GOLOBA, 29, OLAWOYIN PETER OLAREWAJU, 34, and EMMANUEL ORONSAYE-AJAYI, 30 – are each charged with one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison.  One defendant – MORAKINYO GBEYIDE, 39 – is also charged with one count of aggravated identity theft, which carries a mandatory consecutive sentence of two years in prison.  The maximum potential penalties are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendants would be determined by a judge.

Mr. Williams praised the outstanding investigative work of the Secret Service.  The case is being handled by the Office’s General Crimes Unit.  Assistant United States Attorneys Kaylan E. Lasky and Matthew Weinberg are in charge of the prosecution.

The charges contained in the Indictment are merely allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

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Houston

Houston runoff elections: Tough mayoral race as early voting starts Monday

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1 week ago

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November 22, 2023

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U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee and Texas Sen. John Whitmire are headlining the runoff election this year after neither cleared the required 50 percent vote mark required to be called Houston’s next mayor.

Early voting for Houston’s runoff elections kicks off next Monday. Here’s what you should know.

Early voting begins Nov. 27 and runs through Dec. 5 before the election on Dec. 9. There will be nine races on the ballot.

Mayoral race

U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee and State Sen. John Whitmire are headlining the runoff election this year after neither cleared the required 50 percent vote mark required to be called Houston’s next mayor.

The two led a crowded race weeks ago when final ballot counts revealed that 42 percent of voters supported Whitmire and 35 percent voted for Jackson Lee. Jackson Lee and Whitmire were quick to become headbutting contenders, rising to the top of a crowded field of mayoral candidates for their legislative experience and notable endorsements.

Their months-long heated race for the seat has stayed the subject of local and national headlines after their campaigns dished out thousand of dollars in advertisements and billboards.

Gilbert Garcia came in third place in the general election with 7.2 percent of the vote, and former city councilman Jack Christie followed with 6.9 percent of the vote.

The eight other races in the runoff are for city controller and seven of the 16 seats on the Houston City Council, including four of the five at-large positions. Here’s what else is on the runoff ballot.

Other races on the ballot

City controller – Former Harris County treasurer Orlando Sanchez against former Harris County Clerk Chris Hollins

District D – Incumbent Carolyn Evans-Shabazz against Travis McGee

District G – Incumbent Mary Nan Huffman against Houston attorney Tony Buzbee

District H – Mario Castillo against Cynthia Reyes Revilla

At-large position 1 – Julian Ramirez against Melanie Miles

At-large position 2 – Willie Davis against Nick Hellyar

At-large position 3 – Richard Cantu against Twila Carter

At-large position 4 – Letitia Plummer against Roy Morales

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PeacePro call on FG to prosecute all those involved in $11b P&ID fraud conspiracy

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4 weeks ago

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November 4, 2023

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Says every penny spent on ligation must be recovered from economic saboteurs

A peacebuilding think tank, Foundation for Peace Professionals also known as PeacePro has called on the Federal Government of Nigeria to prosecute all those involved in the conspiracy to defraud Nigeria by Process & Industrial Developments (P&ID) Limited.

PeacePro said that, the attempt to defraud Nigeria by P&ID to the tune of $11billion is not an isolated case, as several of such cases exists, some of which maybe ongoing and others concluded, noting that those involved in the scam are a cartel that must be exposed and severely punished.

In a statement by the Executive Director of PeacePro, Amb Abdulrazaq Hamzat over the weekend, PeacePro said that Commercial Courts of England and Wales saved Nigeria from what could literally be described as catastrophe of the greatest order and we must do everything possible to ensure the country is never put at the mercy of foreign government to address crisis of such magnitude.

According to Hamzat, after a long, tortuous legal battle, Nigeria narrowly escape from a hefty penalty of over $11billion over a fraudulent failed 2010 deal to develop a gas processing plant in the country.

Justice Robin Knowles of the Commercial Courts of England and Wales halted enforcement of a $11 billion Process & Industrial Developments (P&ID) Limited arbitration award against Nigeria, which has been described as scam.

According to the judge, the company’s award against Nigeria was obtained by fraud.

Hamzat explained that, Nigeria may have succeeded in upturning the fine, which is about 30% of our national budget, but that is after spending over $40 million in litigation fees and the federal government must treat all those involved as economic saboteurs.

Hamzat maintained that, those involved are scattered amongst the senior civil and public servants, with support of some private players and President Tinubu and the national assembly must address the situation like a national emergency.

He concluded that all business deals involving govt, either concluded or currently disputed should be reviewed to identify pattern of fraud and the respective players.

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

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4 weeks ago

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November 4, 2023

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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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