$80,000 WIRE FRAUD:
U.S. Police arrests hiding Nigerian conman on Student Visa, KELLY ITIVE for preying on Texas women…Scammed vulnerable women in E-Paso County into paying him $78,000 after posing as an American white man
*Operates FAKE Nigerian Romance Scam in fraudulent bank deals
BY GEORGE ELIJAH OTUMU/AMERICAN FOREIGN BUREAU CHIEF
FOR STEALING THE SUM OF $80,000 from two women in El-Paso County, Texas under the guise of creating a ‘hoax romance website’ , pretending to be a white American engineer, a Nigerian, KELLY ITIVE, who came to United States on a Student Visa has been arrested and charged to Court.
Two women in El Paso County were conned out of more than $78,000, but the suspect behind the Nigerian romance scam was arrested Friday morning in Georgia. The El Paso County Sheriff’s Office began investigating after the victims were targeted between April 2017 and Feb. 2018.
Kelly Itive came to the U.S. from Nigeria on a student visa in early 2017 and “immediately started his scam,” according to a news release by the sheriff’s office. Itive, 26, would meet his victims by posing as a middle-aged white man with an engineering background and then contacting women on social media.
Investigators say Itive convinced two women to send him close to $80,000 and used fraudulent bank sites to make them believe he’d pay them back. The sheriff’s office confirmed that he was sending money back to Nigeria.
Friday morning, the Cobb County, Georgia, Police Department arrested Itive with the coordination of the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office.
Itive will be extradited back to Colorado on charges of theft and criminal impersonation.
PRESS RELEASE BY EL-PASO COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE:
January 18, 2019
In February of 2018, the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office Financial Crimes Unit began an investigation regarding a Nigerian Romance Scam. The investigation revealed the suspect came to the United States in early 2017, on a student visa and immediately started his scam.
The suspect met his victims through social media, posing as a middle aged white male with an engineering background. He convinced two women in El Paso County to send him money in excess of $78,000 between April 2017, and February 2018, and he used fake bank websites to convince them he had the means to pay them back.
The El Paso County Sheriff’s Office has coordinated with the Cobb County Georgia Police Department to arrest the suspect this scam. He was taken into custody in Georgia on the morning of January 18, 2019, and he will be scheduled for extradition back to Colorado to face charges of Theft and Criminal Impersonation.
The suspect has been identified as Kelly Itive, DOB: 6/22/92.
The Sheriff’s Office would like to caution the public to never send money to anyone they don’t know, have not met in person, or otherwise have not been able to verify their identity.
We would also like to express our appreciation for the efforts of the Cobb County Georgia Police Department for their assistance in this case.
A mug shot of Itive is attached to this media release.
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