Six Nigerian fraudsters are facing jail in Britain for allegedly stealing the identities of members of the British parliament (MPs), judges and police officers to perpetuate a £10 million scam
Another six were arrested by the police in Ghana over allegations of raping a 21-year-old woman, in Nungua area of Accra, the country’s capital.
The first six allegedly stole personal details from the Civil Service Sports Council (CSSC), to make fraudulent claims over a four-year period.
According to court papers, members’ lists were “stolen to order” from CSSC and used to place orders for tax credit starter packs used in fraudulent claims over a 4-year period.
The gang managed to get away with nearly £2,500,000 before staff at Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs spotted the “extraordinarily high rate” of claims being made by civil servants.
If the scam had not been stopped it could have reaped more than £10,260,525.
CSSC events manager, Adedamola Oyebode, 30, allegedly stole membership lists and passed them on to her brothers-in-law, Oluwatobe Emmanuel Odeyemi, 34, and Oluwagbenga Stephen Odeyemi, 39, who ran the fraud with Kayode Sanni, 38.
Sanni, an illegal immigrant, denied being involved in the fraud and told the court “my conscience is clear” as he stood trial alone,today.
But he was convicted of one count of conspiracy to become knowingly concerned in a fraudulent act between March 10, 2009 and June 11, 2013.
Judge Michael Topolski QC remanded him in custody and said: “I’m quite satisfied at this stage that there is a significant risk that if he were released on bail he would fail to attend.
“In my judgement, the situation has changed drastically. He chose to contest this matter against what I considered to be overwhelming evidence. His incentive to stay in this country has now diminished.”
Emmanuel Odeyemi, Adedamole Oyebode and another accomplice, Chantelle Gumbs, have already pleaded guilty and will be sentenced with Sanni, on 6 July.
Prosecutors have dropped charges against Emmanuel’s wife, Oluwatosin Oyebode.
Prosecutor, Allison Hunter QC said: “These defendants went to exceptionally complex and sophisticated lengths in their orchestration of this fraud.
“They themselves operate under a number of fluid pseudonyms and false identities, operate a multiplicity of email address, have access to a number of mobile phone numbers and have spread the conduct of this fraud over computers and electronic storage devices sufficient to stock a small warehouse.”
Ms Hunter said the investigators began by identifying one of the multiple false tax credit claimants as Chantelle Gumbs, who has admitted her part in the scam.
The source of the stolen identity was traced to the CSSC in Chadwick Street, Westminster, where six staff had password protected access to members’ details.
Adedamole Oyebode, who worked for the CSSC between August 2008 and August 2010, has since admitted supplying lists of members and their details in return for payment.
She also made calls to the tax credit helpline to obtain application packs.
Further investigation revealed the fraudsters had used the details to create false identities, buy online insurance and open false bank accounts to receive the cash.
The profits of the scam were then transferred out into either their own accounts or through Western Union facilities set up by Sanni and Emmanuel Odeyemi.
The court learned that two of the gang, Stephen Odeyemi and his wife, Oluwatumininu Banjo, 40, have fled to Nigeria and are wanted abroad.
Hunter said: “These individuals conspired together to obtain in excess of £10,260,525.33 in fraudulent tax credits using the identities of 10,300 police officers, MPs, members of the judiciary, and civil servants for example, whose personal data and information was stolen from the Civil Service Sports Council.
“The CSSC provides leisure events and activities together with sporting and fitness facilities to approximately 120,000 Public Sector employees or pensioners, including civil servants, local government employees, the NHS, teachers, police officers, fire fighters and HM Armed Forces personnel.”
The six Ghana-based Nigerians were accused of luring their victim, a Muslim, into their room and forcing her to eat soaked garri to break her fast, after which she was sexually assaulted.
The victim (name withheld) was reportedly lured by the suspects to their apartment for her supposedly Eid Mubarak gift when the incident occurred.
The suspects’ names were given as, Steven Johnson Chimaroke, the alleged leader of the group; Ike Amechi; Anthony Emmanuel; Godfred Alex; Kayode Ayodele and Opious Ouner.
Narrating her ordeal after she was rescued by a police patrol team, the victim said she met Chimaroke on Facebook and became friends with him months ago.
“After letting him know that she is a Muslim, he invited me to his house on Sunday, June 25, 2017 to come for my Sallah gift.”
She said she got to Chimaroke’s house that Sunday morning and found the others, living in the same house, with him.
“They first of all seized one of my mobile phones and smashed it on the ground,” she disclosed.
The victim said the suspects then dragged her to one of the rooms, prepared garri and sugar and forced her to eat it, after which Chimaroke jumped on her and raped her.
“While he had unprotected sex with me, the other five stood by shouting, cheering him up and urging him in the broken English language to continue,” the victim said.
After satisfying himself, the victim said the six told her that her ordeal was a revenge for the maltreatment Ghanaians meted out to their brother, who visited Ghana some months ago.
She said, after saying this, the suspects then locked her up in the room and left.
According to her, another mobile phone was hidden in her dress and so she immediately called her brothers to come to her rescue.
The Accra Regional Police Operations Director, Chief Superintendent Kwesi Ofori, told the media that the police apprehended the six suspects that Sunday and they were in the custody assisting in investigation.
The operations officer said brothers of the victim reported the matter at the station and personnel from the Alpha Swat Team of the Accra Regional Police Command and the Lake Side Police Command invaded the premises to rescue the victim.
During the operation, the police found the bowl of soaked garri, which the victim was given as her meal for the day by her kidnappers.
0