Crime & Punishment of Tuesday, 25 December 2018

Source: mynewsgh.com

FBI, Interpol declare 4 including 2 Ghanaians wanted for $15 million fraud

Sumaila Hardi Wumpini and Dennis Miah Sumaila Hardi Wumpini and Dennis Miah

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and International Criminal Police Organization, commonly known as INTERPOL has declared four persons including two Ghanaians wanted for their alleged involvement in a $15 million fraud, MyNewsGh.com has confirmed.

According to information circulated by the US Department of Justice, the suspects who are facing trial in absentia include; Sumaila Hardi Wumpini, 29, Dennis Miah, 34 both Ghanaians and Ayodeji Olumide Ojo, 35, and Victor Daniel Fortune Okorhi, 35 said to be Nigerians.

According copies of bills of indictment intercepted by MyNewsGh.com, these individuals were among a gang of cyber fraudsters based in Africa who were perpetrating, or causing to be perpetrated, various romance scams, fraudulent-check scams, gold-buying scams, advance-fee scams, and credit card scams.

They are reported to be linked to Maxwell Abayate Peter, the 26-year-old resident of Tamale who has already been arrested alongside others and extradited to the USA to face prosecution.

The FBI revealed that proceeds of these criminal activities, both money and goods, were shipped and/or transferred from the United States to locations in Ghana, Nigeria, and South Africa through a complex network of both complicit and unwitting individuals that had been recruited through the various Internet scams.

Some of the suspects have already been charged with concealing their conduct by, among other means, stealing or fraudulently obtaining personal identification information (PII) and using that information to create fake online profiles and personas.

Through all their various schemes, the US Justice Department reveal the defendants are believed to have caused millions in loss to victims across the globe.