Some Nigerians have landed themselves in trouble with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) over their involvement in romance scams.
The Nigerians, eleven in number have all been indicted by a US federal grand jury for charges of fraud conspiracy, money laundering, mail and wire fraud conspiracy.
They are said to have made rich widows, divorced persons, and elderly ladies the target of their romance scam
They were arrested by the FBI during a raid on Wednesday in various parts of the United States including DFW, Eastern District of Texas, Dallas, Lubbock, Los Angeles and charged in the Northern District of Texas.
Those arrested and later charged to court are: David Animashaun, 38; Oluwalobamise Michael Moses, 40; Irabor Fatarr Musa, 51; Ijeoma Okoro, 31; Chukwemeka Orji, 36; Emanuel Stanley Orji, 35; Frederick Orji, 37; Uwadiale Esezobor, 36; Victor Idowu, 36; Afeez Abiola Alao, 37; and Ambrose Sunday Ohide, 47.
The indicted persons face up to 30 years in federal prison for charges against them if they are eventually convicted.
Speaking on the act, Acting U.S. Attorney, Prerak Shah at a press conference that the crimes, “are especially despicable because they rely not only on victims’ lack of internet savvy, but also, their isolation, their loneliness, and sometimes their grief.
“As the victims open their hearts, the perpetrators open their wallets. The only mistake these victims make is being generous to the wrong people.”
According to data by the FBI, more than 20,000 people lost more than $600 million in romance scams in 2020 alone.
Meanwhile, the challenges of the suspended deputy commissioner of police, Abba Kyari, seems not to be ending anytime soon as the United States government gathers over 2,700 electronic files as part of the evidence for trial in the $1.1million fraud case involving the super cop.
New evidence was disclosed in over 6,700 pages are being processed by prosecutors on the fraud case.
U.S. prosecutors along with three of the six indicted defendants in the fraud case have asked the U.S. District Court for Central California to postpone trial from October 2021 to 17 May 2022.
This article was originally published on Naija News