{"id":6453,"date":"2020-03-13T16:30:52","date_gmt":"2020-03-13T16:30:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nigeriastandardnewspaper.com\/ng\/?p=6453"},"modified":"2020-03-13T16:30:52","modified_gmt":"2020-03-13T16:30:52","slug":"money-laundering-in-america-nigerian-born-houston-resident-kingpin-bameyi-kelvin-omale-receives-135-months-jail-term-ordered-to-pay-5378292-03-as-restitution-32-year-old-suspect-involved","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nigeriastandardnewspaper.com\/a\/money-laundering-in-america-nigerian-born-houston-resident-kingpin-bameyi-kelvin-omale-receives-135-months-jail-term-ordered-to-pay-5378292-03-as-restitution-32-year-old-suspect-involved\/","title":{"rendered":"MONEY LAUNDERING IN AMERICA! Nigerian born Houston resident Kingpin, BAMEYI KELVIN OMALE receives 135 months JAIL TERM… ordered to pay $5,378,292.03 as restitution *32 -year-old suspect involved in the scheme to launder millions of dollars *Other Nigerian suspects found guilty: Chinonso Agbaji, a 30-year-old Houston resident sentenced to 78 months in federal prison, Igho Calaba, a 26-year-old Austin resident got 30 months in federal prison; Chibuzor Stanley Uba, a 31-year-old resident of San Antonio to 36 months in federal prison * BY GEORGE ELIJAH OTUMU\/AMERICAN FOREIGN BUREAU CHIEF"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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MONEY\nLAUNDERING IN AMERICA!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nigerian\nborn Houston\nresident Kingpin, BAMEYI KELVIN OMALE receives 135 months JAIL\nTERM…\nordered to pay $5,378,292.03 as restitution <\/strong>\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

*32\n-year-old suspect\n involved in the scheme to launder millions of dollars<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

*Other\nNigerian suspects\nfound guilty: Chinonso Agbaji, a 30-year-old Houston resident \nsentenced to 78 months in federal prison, Igho Calaba, a 26-year-old\nAustin resident got 30 months in federal prison; Chibuzor Stanley\nUba, a 31-year-old resident of San Antonio to 36 months in federal\nprison<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

BY\nGEORGE ELIJAH OTUMU\/AMERICAN FOREIGN BUREAU CHIEF<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

THIS\nIS NOT THE BEST OF TIME FOR NIGERIA’S image Abroad, as few Nigerians\nOverseas are hell-bent on denting the name of Africa’s most populous\nblack nation in the world through their various notoriety that has\nbeclouded the virtues of Nigeria in the eyes of international\ncommunity. Nigerian born Houston Kingpin, BAMEYI KELVIN OMALE has\nbeen jailed for 135 months in federal prison.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In\nAustin recently, this Nigerian who was sentenced to 135 months in\nfederal prison had been ordered to pay $5,378,292.03 for his role in\na money laundering scheme.Bameyi,\n32, was arrested in May of last year along with other Texas Nigerian\nnationals involved in the scheme to launder millions of dollars\nderived from business email compromise (BEC) schemes.\n\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Three\nothers \u2013 Chinonso Agbaji, a 30-year-old Houston resident, Igho\nCalaba, a 26-year-old Austin resident and Chibuzor Stanley Uba, a\n31-year-old resident of San Antonio \u2013 pleaded guilty to the same\ncharge. Last month, Agbaji was sentenced to 78 months in federal\nprison; Uba to 36 months in federal prison; and Calaba to 30 months\nin federal prison.\nA\nfifth man, Nnamdi Nwosu, a 33-year-old Houston resident, is wanted on\ncharges of conspiracy to launder money instruments and one count of\npassport fraud. He remains a fugitive.\nTwo\nothers involved in the scheme were also sentenced.\nEarly last\nyear,\n28-year-old Joseph Odibobhahemen of Austin pleaded guilty to one\ncount of money laundering conspiracy. Also\nin\nDecember 2018, 32-year-old Nosa Onaghise of Austin pleaded guilty to\none count of passport fraud in furtherance of the money laundering\nconspiracy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nOdibobhahemen\nwas sentenced to 78 months in federal prison and ordered to pay\n$1,639,419.57. Onaghise is scheduled to be sentenced next week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According\nto the indictment, the money was largely derived from BEC schemes\nperpetrated against U.S. and foreign victims. The scheme began\nsometime before Nov. 2016. More than $10 million was allegedly sent\nby victims to accounts controlled by the defendants, who were able to\ntake in excess of $3 million before the fraudulent transfers were\nstopped by law enforcement of financial institutions. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According\nto the U.S. Department of Justice, in a BEC scheme, scammers target\nbusinesses and individuals making wire transfer payments, often\ntargeting employees with access to company finances. The scammers\ntrick the employees into making wire transfer payments to bank\naccounts thought to belong to trusted partners, but instead the money\nends up in accounts controlled by the scammers. Sometimes the\nscammers use computer intrusion techniques to alter legitimate\npayment request emails, changing the recipient bank accounts, while\nother times they send spoofed emails from email addresses similar to\ntrusted partners. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Either\nway, the scammers need bank accounts controlled by co-conspirators to\ncollect the stolen money. The\nindictment said that the conspirators in this case acquired or\ncontrolled dozens of bank accounts opened in the U.S., including in\nAustin, utilizing fraudulent identification documents, including fake\npassports. The indictment said that once the funds were procured and\ndeposited into these fake accounts, the defendants worked quickly to\nwithdraw or transfer the money.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nThe\nindictment alleged that some of the conspirators also received funds\nsent by the victims of romance fraud. Money laundering conspiracy\ncalls for up to 20 years in federal prison upon conviction, while\npassport fraud calls for up to 10 years in federal prison upon\nconviction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If\nyou have any information about the whereabouts of Nnamdi Nwosu,\ncontact U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) through its\ntoll-free Tip Line at 1-866-DHS-2-ICE or by completing its \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

online\ntip form<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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