BREAKING NEWS:
NIGERIAN Fugitive, BABAJIDE FADEYIBI behind $1.3Million ‘Mystery Shoppers’ Fraud in America declared WANTED…United States Court documents confirm Oyeyemi Arogundade an accomplice is hiding in Nigeria
*Uses Western Union and Money Gram to perpetuate crime
* “A Nigerian man orchestrated an international fraud ring that stole almost $1.3 million from almost 500 innocent people, including several living in South Hampton Roads”-Federal Agents
*Convicted: “Hafeez Odoffin of Chicago was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Newport News to NINE years and two months in prison, Zoelithia Williams of Smyrna, Tenn., sentenced to EIGHT years and four months and Christie Easter of Fort Worth, Texas, was sentenced last month to almost NINE years”
* ‘Arogundade creates counterfeit checks and money orders in Nigeria based on legitimate versions obtained in the United States’-INVESTIGATION
* CASE under Investigation by FBI, Homeland Security Investigations, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and U.S. Secret Service
BY GEORGE ELIJAH OTUMU/FOREIGN BUREAU CHIEF, UNITED STATES
A NIGERIAN CRIMINAL, BABAJIDE FADEYIBI behind mystery shopping fraud in United States that has cost over 500 innocent Americans the sum of $1.3million presently on the run and in hiding in Nigeria had been declared wanted for his financial crimes.
Federal agencies revelation confirmed that Babajide, the ringleader of this criminal group was fully behind series of financial crimes traceable to “mystery shopper” fraud in United States. He allegedly had recruits called “mystery shoppers,” but they didn’t really shop.
In exchange for money, they were supposed to cash cashier’s checks and money orders at their banks and then wire part of the lump sum to other people – ostensibly to evaluate transmission services like Western Union and MoneyGram, whereas it was fake.
Federal agents claim Babajide orchestrated an international fraud ring that stole almost $1.3 million from almost 500 innocent people, including several living in South Hampton Roads.
Lawrence Cake of Virginia Beach, a former restaurant manager states that: “It all looked very legitimate. My heart dropped to the pit of my stomach when I realized what I’d done.”
Babajide remains at large, as does one of his co-defendants, Oyeyemi Arogundade, according to court documents identifying both men as living in Nigeria.
Meanwhile six other co-defendants have been convicted of crimes relating to the alleged fraud, they are: “Hafeez Odoffin of Chicago was sentenced Thursday in U.S. District Court in Newport News to nine years and two months in prison, and Zoelithia Williams of Smyrna, Tenn., was sentenced to eight years and four months. Christie Easter of Fort Worth, Texas, was sentenced last month to almost nine years.”
According to court documents, federal agents launched an investigation in 2012 into a large fraud scheme that appeared to have its roots in Nigeria. The scheme continued until 2014, and the indictment was returned in May 2016.
The probe determined that the fraudsters recruited people over the internet to serve as mystery shoppers, who would then use their own bank accounts to cash counterfeit cashier’s checks and postal money orders.
Dispatchers like Williams and Easter would collect interested applicants’ personal information and then place it on counterfeit cashier’s checks and money orders to be mailed out.
After cashing the fakes, the mystery shoppers were supposed to wire some of the money to other people. That would often happen before the financial institution realized the truth, retroactively canceled the transaction and recouped the money from the shoppers’ accounts.
Cake said he was on his third batch of money orders before his bank informed him one was a fake. He said he immediately tried to contact the company to find out what had happened, only to realize too late it was all a con.
Most of the counterfeit checks and money orders were made in Nigeria, based on legitimate versions obtained in the United States. Officials alleged Arogundade was behind most of the counterfeiting.
The case was investigated by the FBI, Homeland Security Investigations, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the U.S. Secret Service. Cake said he didn’t know the fraud had connections to Nigeria until the feds got involved. He said all the addresses he knew about were in Texas and the Philippines.
Cake urged anyone else looking to make a few extra bucks to make sure they understand exactly what they are doing and who they are working for. Don’t do everything by email and text.
“Talk to somebody,” he said. “I never talked to anybody, and I certainly wish I had.”
#Additional reports by Virginia Pilot
