Two Nigerian men who duped a woman out of £1.6 million in a sophisticated romance scam were today, Friday, January 8,
jailed for a total of 5-and-a-half years at Basildon Crown Court.
Ife
Ojo, 31, (left) of Hammonds Drive, Peterborough in Cambridgeshire
was jailed for 34 months for conspiracy to defraud. His accomplice
Olusegun Agbaje (right), 43, of Kershaw Close, Hornchurch in Essex was
jailed for 32 months for conspiracy to defraud.
Detective Chief Inspector Gary Miles, of FALCON - the Met’s specialist Cyber Crime and Fraud Unit, said:
"Today’s sentencing recognises the devastating impact this kind of
fraud has on its victims. I would like to pay tribute to the victim in
this case who provided evidence which was crucial in securing two guilty
pleas in this case.
"The financial and emotional impact to the
victim has been huge. Many victims borrow money from friends and family
to pay the suspects. Victims typically feel embarrassed and ashamed when
they realise they have been duped, so they often don't report what has
happened to them or even confide in a friend."
In January 2015, a
woman in her 40s, from Hillingdon, reported to Action Fraud that she had
been a victim of fraud. The case was referred the Met's cyber crime and
fraud team, FALCON.
The victim told police that in February 2014
she met a man calling himself Christian Anderson on a dating site. After
a few weeks, they met in person. He told her that he was an engineer
working in the oil industry, that he was divorced and had a daughter,
and that his father and sister died of cancer.
After a few weeks, he told her that he loved her. He said he was
having a difficult time working on a project in Benin, Africa. He said
that he wanted to come home to be with her but first he needed some
specialist machinery so he could finish the project. He asked her for a
loan to pay import duty for the machinery.
She paid over £30,000
into the business account of his supposed personal assistant, a man
allegedly called Brandon Platt, but Anderson then requested more cash,
ranging from £25,000 for a police fine, to thousands of pounds to free
up inheritance money left by his mother, who lived in Cape Town.
He
told her that he wanted to use the inheritance money to set up a life
with the victim. Fees for freeing up the inheritance money included
costs for holding it in a vault in Amsterdam and $170,000 to pay for a
non-existent "anti-terrorist certificate" so that the money could be
deposited at a bank.
The victim had been convinced that they would live together, and had been looking for a home for them to buy. She
met with someone claiming to be Anderson's lawyer, and even travelled
to an office in Amsterdam to meet a man calling himself Dr Spencer, who
was supposedly responsible for holding the money in a vault.
Between
March and December 2014, the victim paid £1.6million into numerous bank
accounts.
The money was subsequently transferred into various personal
accounts, including £35,000 to the bank accounts of Ife Ojo and Olusegun
Agbaje. The victim doubted the authenticity of Anderson's stories
on numerous occasions but every time she asked for proof he sent false
documentation or made up excuses for why he could not send her evidence.
FALCON
carried out a financial investigation. They identified Agbaje as one of
the recipients of the victim's money and went to his home address where
they found him with Ojo. Both were arrested and their homes searched. At
Ojo's home, they found a laptop containing records of the victim's
conversation with Anderson, a memento book seemingly sent to Anderson by
another victim and a copy of the book 'The Game'.
FALCON established that they had received £35,000 of the victim's cash and charged them. In
September 2015, Ojo, a student from Peterborough and Agbaje, an
administrative assistant of Hornchurch both pleaded guilty to conspiracy
to defraud at Basildon Crown Court.
Detectives are continuing their enquiries as they seek other members of the gang and try to identify any other victims.
Recycled events, nothing new
ReplyDeleteWild flowers!
Hope say d money is still intact
DeleteGbagam
All these people wey dey fall our hand outside. God is watching them in 3D.
Delete#LIB ADDICT#
This na pple boyfriends oooo ..... I am sure their babes go dey shame for them
DeleteServes dem right. Linda take note!
DeleteYoruba with their fraudulent practices...
DeleteLol
ReplyDeleteDid I just hear 1.6 million pounds. Geez
ReplyDeleteNo u didnt hear
DeleteLINDA NOTIFY DBANJ
Gud for dem
ReplyDeleteDz idiots dat dnt understand how pipo suffer to mak money
DeleteBuhari pls increase nysc allawee
All these people that keeps giving Nigerian a bad name God is watching you all.
ReplyDeleteServes them right
ReplyDeleteLong write-up, serves them right
ReplyDeleteNawa o!
ReplyDelete#linda give me 1bo#
Wow!! Huge money
ReplyDeleteSome ppl are just greedy
ReplyDelete#needanalibitojoinmetastethenewgeishasardine
Yahoo plus in action. Boys are not smiling.
ReplyDeleteOwo oo. £1.6m! That's huge!
ReplyDeletewhy dem no carry the money come back sharp sharp.. ndi ara.. serves them right biko just spoiling Green White Green
ReplyDeleteBest way for them to spend this new year...good luck guyz!
ReplyDeleteHard work pays ....guys go get a job and do something more meaningful with your lifes.
ReplyDeleteGhen Ghen. #IRepLIB
ReplyDeleteHmmm a student at Peterborough ??
ReplyDeleteGet ready for prison and then deportation back to the motherland. Why didn't you just face your studies eh? Giving Nigerians bad name.
Also how was the scam possible if they met in person? Or were there white men involved? If so where are their pics ?
Ain't no black african answering Christian Anderson
Keep digracing us yoruba ode #sneh
ReplyDeleteNo comments, @LIB just passing by.
ReplyDelete*Yawns*Bad eggs as usual.
ReplyDeleteAww thank God its friday
They deserve more than dat ole.
ReplyDeleteEnter your comment...the woman too is greed ,she want something in return DAT why they dupe her
ReplyDeletePassing by I came to see their names Yoruba I hail oo
ReplyDeleteSharp shooter's, they deserve the sentence........ Let's go Linda
ReplyDeleteWhy always Nigerians
ReplyDeleteEvery day for the thief one day for the owner. If you think 419 pays or dubious activities, u are in for a shocker. people make money from legitimate sources, nobody is ready to work hard, they are looking for quick money. Quick money leads to quick sand and u will SINK!!
ReplyDeleteChisos,see money!
ReplyDeleteChildren of Life. Omo Naija, ewe nje, ogun nje
ReplyDeleteHope they get what they deserve
ReplyDeleteanaekwe.ucheslimj@gmail.com
Fraudsters. #IRepLIB
ReplyDeleteHmm,the guys were not sharp enough
ReplyDeleteYoruba race or should I call them people and scam/fraud. I am sure that they succeeded in conning the woman with the help of Alfas( fresh human parts juju doers) and babalawos.
ReplyDeleteHmmm Nawa O
ReplyDeleteAbeg make unah leave them joor..nah hustle them dey hustle..the woman nah greedy person too..
ReplyDeleteDat serves they right
ReplyDeleteKarma is bae....
ReplyDeleteServe him right. Ole
ReplyDeleteChIzuz!! Omo with d current exchange na big Raba be dat
ReplyDeleteAJ MAIN BOY...
nicw you have to go jail that is part of the street
ReplyDeletelife goes on
ReplyDeletemove on and get new nigga in jail and come out with another plan
ReplyDeleteThat serve them right
ReplyDeleteYorubas are the real fraudsters!
ReplyDeleteYorubas are the real fraudsters!
ReplyDeletemehn i love this score.boys no dey smile.
ReplyDeleteIt serve them right.
ReplyDeleteplease stop disgracing your country...angelmakiz@yahoo.com
ReplyDeletei tink thats d latest job naw
ReplyDelete#Al sah-him
Fraudsters everywhere
ReplyDelete....Just short of Words!!!
ReplyDeleteNo one will blame the lady duped in this instance.
ReplyDeleteIf it were a Nigerian girl that was duped out of love peeps will call the guy -smarty but the girl who is the victim is tagged -ode,foolish,mumu geh etc.
Blacks discriminate against themselves alot.
Some women are really desperate for love.. Or could they be under a spell??? I wonder.. Any man who even talk money to me in a wrong way, I'm so out...
ReplyDeleteThieves make dem go dey do fraud inside d jail
ReplyDeleteNigerian guys pls let's keep away from fraud and all these desperate oyibo women, make una too go rest na una people go bring homo wey make una guys and gals dey marry themselves that follow cause the scarcity In real marriage.
ReplyDeleteEnter your comment...they are from Ondo & Ekiti states. Land of 419's.
ReplyDeleteSome women sha......please ladies should learn to be wise joor.
ReplyDeleteKudos guys you will surely make it out.
ReplyDeleteThese are the reasons why Nigerians undergo so many checks when travelling...una nor dey hear word. quick money dey purge. kindly check out the 15 most anticipated albums of 2016 http://tinyurl.com/hqx744b
ReplyDeleteAlways Nigerians!!!! Na wa oo
ReplyDeleteThey should rot in prison!!! % Linda Your Greatest Fan %
ReplyDeleteBeht why?
ReplyDeleteAway games
ReplyDeleteNo comment! Seen
ReplyDelete32months...??1.6m pounds...Good deal(summary)
ReplyDeleteFoolish yoruba people criminals
ReplyDeleteUr fada is foolish
DeleteU guys are disgracing urself thinking ur disgracing ur country.
ReplyDelete@Lindaikeji No. I FAN.
Thanks god say no be igbo...now i know say no be only igbos the do yahoo....
ReplyDeleteGood for them
ReplyDeleteEnter your comment...this is a very bad one
ReplyDeleteYou see why we are divided...someone just mentioned yoruba...just because the story is been feed in from UK so it got much attention....Nnaa if you never hear, go Nsanwam prison for Accra Ghana na IBO man take almost 2/3 of the prison and no one is given such case much attention...so make we keep quite and stop tribalism...crime is crime...I spent four years In Ghana and I did a lot of research base on zenophobia attacks in Ghana....I won't like to go into details but the names mentioned are still Nigerians.. let us bury those things
ReplyDeleteNa wa o! 9ja!!!! They shd face the law anyway
ReplyDeleteAny of una wey no ver lie to take obtain money make d person raise hand,all way nah way just do am well
ReplyDelete