A United States Federal court
has convicted a Nigerian, Wiseman Oputa, who set up a number of bank accounts
with bogus passports over a year, in which he managed to steal at least
$500,000 through wire fraud and Internet scams.
The court convicted Oputa of
one count of wire fraud, the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Southern District of
Texas announced.
Wiseman Oputa, 25, pleaded
guilty to opening bank accounts in the area surrounding Houston, using
counterfeit passports.
Once the accounts were
created, Oputa and his associates conducted a number of Internet scams from
romance schemes to hacking into company email accounts to make their phishing
efforts appear more real.
The victims sent at least a
total of $500,000 to these bank accounts via checks and wire transfers, which
Oputa and his associates controlled.
He would then use the bogus
passports to withdraw the money from the accounts.
Oputa is scheduled to be
sentenced on July 6 and faces up to 20 years in federal prison and a potential
maximum fine of $250,000.
Here is the full statement by
US Attorney’s Office, Southern District of Texas:
A 25-year-old Nigerian man who
was residing in Houston has pleaded guilty to perpetuating a wire fraud scheme
involving various Internet scams, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Abe Martinez.
Wiseman Oputa pleaded guilty
to one count of wire fraud.
Beginning Jan. 1, 2016, until
Jan. 25, 2017, Oputa used counterfeit passports to open bank accounts in the
greater Houston area. The passports contained photographs of Oputa but had
different names and identification information. He then worked with others to
lure victims into sending money into these bank accounts.
These funds were obtained
through a variety of internet scams, including business email compromise,
romance schemes and unauthorised intrusions into company email accounts. Checks
or wire transfers were then sent from the company’s accounts payable to
accounts Oputa or others controlled. Oputa would then use the counterfeit
passports to retrieve the fraudulently obtained funds.
In one instance in December
2016, Oputa opened an account at Regions Bank with a counterfeit Ghanaian
passport as identification. Shortly thereafter the account received a wire
transfer of $40,000 from a victim who had been told to send money for taxes on
money he had won in Spain. USAA Bank identified the fraudulent and was able to
recall the wire.
U.S. District Judge Alfred H.
Bennett accepted the guilty plea and has set sentencing for July 6, 2017. At
that time, Oputa faces up to 20 years in federal prison and a possible $250,000
maximum fine. He will remain in custody pending that hearing.
The U.S. Postal Inspection Service
conducted the investigation along with Department of State – Diplomatic
Security Service and the Secret Service. Assistant U.S. Attorney Suzanne
Elmilady is prosecuting the case.
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