MULTI-MILLION DOLLAR FRAUD IN AMERICA!
Nigerian Fugitive, King of Money, 33, in Texas Confesses Guilty…Commits Bank Fraud, Conspiracy to Money Laundering & Computer Fraud
- Eastern District Court of Virginia: “Federal warrant was issued for his arrest on Aug. 1, 2008. He was later indicted by a federal grand jury on April 21, 2011. He was arrested in Australia after more than four years as a fugitive”
- *Lavishes Dollars on Girls at Dallas Night Club
- Faces Maximum Penalty of 30 Years in Prison
BY SHANE KIKI RICHARD/CRIME REPORTER, VIRGINIA
TOBECHI Eyinna Onwuhara is a Nigerian man by birth, but naturalized American resident in Dallas, Texas as a ‘big man’ in Nigerian parlance; bearing that he stays in an expensive house, drives fleets of costly cars and lives life to the fullest. He visits quite expensive restaurants and known in most ‘elites’ night clubs’ as a ‘rich man.’
As often said in Africa, “Every day is for the thief, but one day is for the owner,” the fraudulent schemes perpetrated by Onwuhara finally came to an end when security agencies like Valerie Parlave, Assistant Director in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Intelligence FBI’s Washington Field Office; David E. Beach, Special Agent in Charge of the United States Secret Service’s Washington Field Office; and Earl L. Cook, Alexandria Chief of Police closed in on him. This led to an announcement made after the plea was accepted by United States District Judge Claude M. Hilton.
His Crimes
Onwuhara pleaded guilty today to charges of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and computer fraud in the presence of Neil H. MacBride, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. He was charged with conspiracy to commit bank fraud and a federal warrant was issued for his arrest on Aug. 1, 2008. He was later indicted by a federal grand jury on April 21, 2011. He was arrested in Australia after more than four years as a fugitive. Onwuhara faces a maximum penalty of thirty years in prison on the conspiracy to commit bank fraud charge alone when he is sentenced on September 20, 2013.
Going by court records, Onwuhara is the ringleader of a group of Nigerians who used fee-based web databases to search for potential victim account holders with large balances in home equity line of credit (HELOC) accounts. This information included name, address, date of birth, and social security number. Once the conspirators identified a victim, they used other online databases to obtain information commonly used in security questions, such as the victim’s mother’s maiden name. The conspirators then obtained credit reports on the victims in order to verify personal information and account balances.
Armed with a victim’s personal information, the conspirators called the victim’s financial institution, impersonated the victim, and transferred the majority of the available money from the HELOC account into an account from which a wire transfer could be sent. The conspirators would then wire transfer hundreds of thousands of dollars to domestic or overseas accounts controlled by members of the conspiracy. The conspirators used caller-ID spoofing services, prepaid cell phones and PC wireless Internet access cards, and transferred victims’ home telephone numbers in order to impersonate the victim and avoid identifying themselves.
Once the fraudulently-transferred funds arrived in the destination bank, a conspirator with access to the account would withdraw funds and transfer them to other members of the conspiracy after taking a portion of the proceeds for himself.
The case was investigated by the FBI’s Washington Field Office, United States Secret Service’s Washington Field Office, and the Alexandria Police Department, with assistance from the U.S. Marshals Service. Assistant United States Attorneys Alexander T.H. Nguyen and Lindsay Kelly are prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States.
EDITOR’S NOTE: A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.justice.gov/usao/vae. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia athttp://www.vaed.uscourts.gov or on https://pcl.uscourts.gov.