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Well, as we're putting this page together, another victim falls, in Detroit.
Law firm out $2.1 million in African fraudSeptember 21, 2002
BY DAVID ASHENFELTER
He introduced himself as Dr. Mbuso Nelson. He said he was an official with the Ministry of Mining in Pretoria, South Africa. And he offered to pay a $4.5-million fee to a 59-year-old Rochester Hills woman if she would help him transfer $18 million from South Africa to a bank account in the United States. But what Ann Marie Poet did next gave new meaning to the so-called Nigerian scam letter fraud, the FBI said. The FBI said Poet, a bookkeeper for a small Berkley law firm, embezzled $2.1 million from the firm's accounts between February and August, after scam organizers persuaded her to wire huge amounts of money to bank accounts in South Africa and Taiwan to expedite the transfer of money to the United States. "It's unbelievable that she fell for this," said FBI Special Agent James Hoppe, who is investigating the case. "She was gullible -- gullible and had access to $2.1 million." Poet was indicted this week by a federal grand jury in Detroit on 13 counts of wire fraud. Each count carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. If she's convicted, she'll likely face three years in prison, federal officials said. Poet was advised of the charges during an initial appearance before a federal magistrate in Detroit on Friday. She came to court alone and left without comment. Hoppe said the perpetrators of the fraud contacted Poet by fax in January and promised her that all she had to do to get her $4.5-million fee was toa bank account. After she agreed to help, Hoppe said, the scammers told Poet the money was on its way. But as inevitably happens, Hoppe said, they later told Poet there were problems -- fees, commissions and taxes that had to be paid. In the months that followed, Hoppe said, Poet wired amounts ranging from $9,400 to $360,000 to offshore accounts. She never received her fee. The alleged scam ended Sept. 4, when the Olsman Mueller & James law firm was told that a $36,000 settlement check to a client had bounced. Jules Olsman, president of the firm, said he contacted the firm's bank to find out what happened. After getting the runaround, he said, he called the FBI and eventually found out what Poet had done. Hoppe said she drained all of the firm's accounts. "This is just absolutely beyond description," Olsman said Friday, noting that Poet had worked for the firm for nine years and often scrutinized expenditures she deemed questionable by other employees. He said Poet, who quit coming to work after Sept. 4, is married and is very active in her church. But as angry as he is with Poet, Olsman said, he's even more annoyed with Bank One. He said a manager at a Southfield branch, whom Poet befriended, approved all of the wire transfers even though Poet was not authorized at the bank to make such transfers. Bank officials declined to discuss the specifics Friday. "We don't comment on customer relationships," said Bank One spokeswoman Mary Kay Bean. "All businesses need to have the right accounting and financial controls, and we urge our customers to be diligent about checking their balances." Olsman's lawyer, Mayer Morganroth of Southfield, said the forms the bank used to make the transfers clearly indicated that the manager should have called the law firm to verify the transfers. Olsman said his insurance won't cover the loss, but that he plans to make good on the losses: "Not one client of our law firm will be out one penny." He also said he plans to sue the bank. Hoppe said there's no evidence the bank manager was in on the scam. He also said there's little hope of recovering the money or arresting the culprits. The Nigerian scam letter scheme has been around since the mid-1980s and originated there. People usually are approached through letters, faxes and, more recently, e-mail. Every month, hundreds of Americans fall victim to versions of the scam, federal authorities say. In some cases, victims lured abroad to complete the transaction are kidnapped for ransom. The U.S. State Department has attributed 15 kidnappings or killings to the fraud. Hoppe said people need to use common sense when they receive such offers. "Nobody is going to call someone they don't know and offer to pay millions of dollars to help transfer money to the United States unless they're up to no good," Hoppe said. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Gorland said the law firm is the victim -- not Poet. "You can't use somebody else's money to follow one of these get-rich schemes," she said. "If you use your own money, the worst thing you will be is a fool."
Here's
a piece I found from the State Department outline some of the rues. You'll
need Adobe Acrobat Reader to view it
A Lad gets busted!!!! 419 scam mastermind jailed for 12 yearsSeptember 04 2002 at
09:11PM The first ever person to be found guilty of racketeering in South Africa - a Nigerian - was sentenced to 12 years imprisonment in the Specialised Commercial Crimes Court in Pretoria on Wednesday. Samuel Williams, 35, who pleaded guilty to the crime, was arrested by the Scorpions on August 16 this year. Williams managed the South African branch of a criminal enterprise which operated from a house in Sandton where he and other Nigerians were arrested. The scam operators would
offer millions of US dollars to foreign businessmen The scam operators would offer millions of US dollars to foreign businessmen with the request for advance payments. The "enterprise" would claim it had millions available and needed these individuals toaccounts for them or to give them money to unlock the millions, which did not really exist. In return for this favour, the "enterprise" claimed it would pay commission to those people who "helped" them. The racketeering enterprise pretended to have the support of a profile advisor to the South African Reserve Bank; a lawyer with a Cape Town law firm that did not exist; a certain Khaya Ngema who was allegedly a senior official with the Department of Finance; and a Themba Mkhwane, an employee of the Department of Minerals and Energy Affairs. None of these people existed. During the raid in Sandton, the Scorpions discovered 181 letters addressed to people all over the world and CDs with a US and Canadian mailing list. They also confiscated 16 cellphones, 22 SIM cards and documents.
Here's a Scammer who got busted running a scam in Sacramento!!!! This was released by the D.O.J. in June 2002. SACRAMENTO MAN INDICTED IN INTERNATIONAL ADVANCE FEE SCHEME SACRAMENTO, CA – United States Attorney John K. Vincent announced today that a federal grand jury returned a ten-count indictment charging ROLAND ADAMS, 36, of Sacramento, in connection with his involvement in a fraud scheme that used sham web sites to defraud victims around the world. ADAMS was arrested by U.S. Secret Service agents at his office, located in downtown Sacramento at 926 J Street, late in the day on Monday, June 17, 2002. ADAMS is scheduled to be arraigned before U.S. Magistrate Judge Gregory G. Hollows on Monday, June 24, 2002, at 2:00 p.m. According to Assistant U.S. Attorneys Benjamin B. Wagner and Camil A. Skipper, who are prosecuting the case, the indictment and the previously unsealed complaint allege that ADAMS, along with co-conspirators in South Africa and Canada, sent letters to potential victims which purported to be from officials with African government agencies. Each letter informed the recipient that the African officials were attempting to divert a large sum of money under the control of their agency to their own use, but needed the assistance of a foreign account holder to receive the funds and transfer them on to the officials. Persons who agreed to assist were promised a percentage of the money, often several million dollars. The funds were represented to be in the custody of certain offshore banks, and would be transferred to the victim once certain bank fees and other fees were paid. In order to further entice the victims, the indictment alleges, ADAMS created Internet web sites, including Afribankcorp.com and BancofAfrica.com, which appeared to be web sites for legitimate foreign banking institutions. The web sites included a "Foreign Payment Verification" link. Victims were prompted to enter an "Authorization Code" by which they could access information as to the amount of money that had purportedly been designated for transfer to that victim upon the payment of fees. ADAMS and others also acquired telephone numbers for at least one "bank", and communicated with victims by telephone, fax and E-mail, while posing as employees of the bank. Victims were directed to send fees, ranging from several hundred to several thousand dollars, to bank "agents" in South Africa and Canada. The indictment further alleges that a portion of the "fees" extracted from victims was routed back to ADAMS in Sacramento through accounts in Canada and elsewhere. ADAMS is alleged to have used the funds to further the scheme, to purchase a home and for other personal expenditures. In the indictment, ADAMS is charged with conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, five counts of wire fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, and one count of money laundering. All the charges are felonies. In two forfeiture counts, the Government seeks the forfeiture of ADAMS' residence, two bank accounts, the domain names for Internet web sites he used, and other assets. If convicted, ADAMS faces up to five years in prison on each of the fraud counts, and up to ten years in prison on each of the two money laundering charges. He could be fined up to $250,000 on each count. The United States Attorney's Office noted that an indictment is only an accusation, and that ADAMS is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty. The case is being investigated by the U.S. Secret Service. Persons who have any information about the alleged scheme are urged to contact the U.S. Secret Service in Sacramento.
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