This archive report was first published on 24 August 2019.
Published on August 24, 2019, US prosecutors charged 80 individuals in a widespread conspiracy that defrauded at least $6 million from businesses and vulnerable elderly women.
Of the 80 suspects, 17 have been arrested in the US, while federal investigators are trying to track down the rest in Nigeria and other countries.
The suspects, mostly Nigerians, are facing charges of stealing over $46 million through various schemes, including impersonating email accounts and romance scams.
According to US Federal prosecutors, one of the schemes involved sending bogus requests for money by impersonating email accounts belonging to various companies.
Another scheme, known as 'romance scams', involved fraudsters logging on to dating sites to woo other users, especially elderly women, and ask them for monetary gifts or to complete transactions on their behalf.
Law enforcement officers arrested 14 people in the United States, including two Nigerian nationals, Valentine Iro and Chukwudi Christogunus Igbokwe, who were named as co-conspirators working with others in the US and in Nigeria.
US Attorney in Los Angeles, Nick Hanna, said the fraudsters laundered the money after receiving it from their victims.
