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.
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