The United States government, through the Federal Bureau of Investigation, FBI, has disclosed the identities of the 77 suspected Nigerian fraudsters to be charged for fraud.
The indictment was unsealed after law enforcement authorities Thursday arrested 14 defendants across the United States, with 11 of those arrests taking place in the Los Angeles region.
Two defendants are already in federal custody on other charges, and one was arrested earlier this week.
The remaining defendants are believed to be outside the US, with most of them located in Nigeria.
The FBI named Valentine Iro, 31, and Chukwudi Christogunus Igbokwe, 38, both Nigerian citizens as lead suspects, adding that the duo allegedly coordinated with others to launder the funds from victims.
DAILY NIGERIAN reports that in a press statement released in Los Angeles, California on Thursday by US attorney, Nick Hanna announced the arrest of many Nigerians in an ongoing investigation related to fraud cases.
The statement read: “This case is part of our ongoing efforts to protect Americans from fraudulent online schemes and to bring to justice those who prey upon American citizens and businesses.
“Today, we have taken a major step to disrupt criminal networks that use BEC schemes, romance scams and other frauds to fleece victims. This indictment sends a message that we will identify perpetrators – no matter where they reside – and we will cut off the flow of ill-gotten gains.”
“Investigations revealed that members of the conspiracy sometimes wired funds to other bank accounts under their control or withdrew same as cash or negotiable instruments such as cashier’s checks.
“The suspects often “used illicit money exchangers to move funds overseas, generally avoiding transferring the funds directly through banking institutions, the indictment alleges.
“To do this, Iro and Igbokwe coordinated the transfer of a victim’s funds from a fraudulent bank account they controlled to US bank accounts belonging to illicit money exchangers.
“Those money exchangers, in turn, used a Nigerian banking application to transfer other funds in naira (₦), the currency of Nigeria, from Nigerian bank accounts they controlled to the Nigerian bank accounts specified by Iro and Igbokwe,” the statement said.
BELOW IS THE FULL NAMES OF NIGERIANS
1. VALENTINE IRO
2. CHUKWUDI CHRI STOGUNUS IGBOKWE
3. JERRY ELO IKOGHO
4. IZUCHUKWU KINGSLEY UMEJESI
5. ADEGOKE MOSES OGUNGBE
6. ALBERT LEWIS CATHEY
7. TITYAYE MARINA MANSBANGURA
8. CHUKWUDI COLLINS AJAEZE
9. EKENE AUGUSTINE EKECHUKWU
10. CHUKS EROHA
11. COLLINS NNAEMEKA OJIMBA
12. FNU LNU
13. UCHENNA OCHIAGHA
14. NNAMDI THEOJOSEPH DURU
15. ERICSON UCHE OFORKA
16. MARK IFEANYI CHUKWUOCHA
17. AUGUSTINE NNAMDI
18. CHIEMEZIE CHRISTOPHER CHILAKA
19. CHARLES OHAJIMKPO
20. STANLEY UGOCHUKWU UCHE
21. CHIKA AUGUSTINE ODIONYENMA
22. PASCHAL CHIMA OGBONNA
23. SAMUEL NNAMDI ONWUASOANYA,
24. MACWILLIAM CHINONSO CHUKWUOCHA
25. EMMANUEL ONYEKA UZOKA
26. JOSHUA ANIEFIOK AWAK
27. GEORGE UGOCHUKWU EGWUMBA
28. UCHECHUKWU SOLOMON EZIRIM
29. AUGUSTINE IFEANYI OKAFOR
30. FNU LNU
31. OGOCHUKWU INNOCENT IKEWESI
32. EMMANUEL UZOMA OGANDU
33. AMARACHUKWU HARLEY ANYANWU
34. BRIGHT IFEANYI AZUBUIKE
35. EMEKA MOSES NWACHUKWU
36. CHINWENDU KENNETH OSUJI
37. EUSEBIUS UGOCHUKWU ONYEKA
38. CHIDI ANUNOBI
39. ANTHONY NWABUNWANNE OKOLO
40. OBINNA CHRISTIAN ONUWA
41. CHIJIOKE CHUKWUMA ISAMADE
42. LINUS NNAMDI MADUFOR
43. CHRYSAUGONUS NNEBEDUM
44. UGOCHUKWU OKEREKE
45. FIDEL LEON ODIMARA
46. KINGSLEY CHINEDU ONUDOROGU
47. DESSI NZENWAH
48. CHIMAROKE OBASI
49. JAMES CHIGOZIE AGUBE
50. CHIMAOBI UZOZIE OKORIE
51. OGOCHUKWU OHIRI
52. KENNEDY CHIBUEZE UGWU
53. IFEANYICHUKWU OLUWADAMILARE AGWUEGBO
54. VICTOR IFEANYI CHUKWU
55. CHIDI EMMANUEL MEGWA
56. PRINCEWILL ARINZE DURU
57. DESMOND IWU
58. ONYEKA VINCENT CHIKA
59. IFEANYI KINGSLEY MEZIENWA
60. VICTOR UCHENNA AGUH
61. KEVIN AMARACHI ESHIMBU
62. VITALIS KELECHI ANOZIE
63. WILLIAMS OBIORA AGUNWA
64. GEORGE CHIMEZIE DIKE
65. MUNACHISO KYRIAN UKACHUKWU
66. NWANNEBUIKE OSMUND
67. CHIDIEBERE FRANKLIN NWANGWU
68. DAMIAN UCHECHUKWU AJAH
69. EMEKA P. EJIOFOR
70. LAWRENCE CHUKWUMA UBASINEKE
71. CHINEDU BRIGHT IBETO
72. VALENTINE AMARACHI NWANEGWO
73. EMMANUEL CHIDIEBERE DIKE
74. JEREMIAH UTIEYIN EKI
75. CHIMA DARLINGTON DURU
76. IKENNA CHRISTIAN IHEJIUREME
77. OBI ONYEDIKA MADEKWE
