A final year student of
Imo State University, Chibuzor Akobundu, has been arrested by operatives of
Special Fraud Unit, Ikoyi, for allegedly swindling foreign women to the tune of
$48,000 through a dating website.
Surprisingly, the 22-year-old
Microbiology undergraduate confessed that his victims, resident in the United
States of America, were ‘swept off their feet’ by his profile on the dating
site.
CYBER
CRIME SUSPECTS: Chibuzor Akobundu (Devon Miles, Martin Williams and Sani Bala
Ismaila1st left), and other alleged accomplices.
He
spoke with journalists yesterday, while being paraded alongside two staff of a
second generation bank, who allegedly facilitated the withdrawal of money via
Western Union Money Transfer.
The
suspect adopted Devon Miles as his name and pasted a photograph of an unknown
American citizen as his profile on the dating site.
Victims
He
confessed to have swindled five American single women within the ages of 40 and
50, in search for husbands.
He
gave the name of his first victim as Antoinette. He promised to marry her and
was able to dupe her of $16,000 before she suspected he was a fraudster.
His
next victim was one Jettie Simpson, who reportedly sent $5,000 to him via
Western Union.
Others
also duped by Akobundu were Shelly Bashir, $100; Billie Klock, $13,000, in a
relationship that reportedly lasted for five months, and Andrea Desena, $8,000.
‘How
I operate’
Akobundu
said: “I started browsing the dating site three years ago, posing as a US
citizen residing in Nigeria.
“At
that time, it was a common game around my area in Ikeja. Along the line I met
these ladies who were looking for husbands.
“They
fell in love with me because of my profile, where I stated that I was a
49-year-old divorcee in search of a wife. I claimed to be an engineer.
“I
would tell them I was stranded in Nigeria and needed some money to travel back
to US and they would send the money via Western Union.
“At
other times, I would tell them that my daughter was sick and that I needed
money to offset her hospital bill and they would fall for the trick. I have
never used charm to hypnotise any of them.
“My
parents were never aware of what I was into because anytime I got a reasonable
amount, I would travel to South Africa and squander the money.
“My
regret is that I never used the money for anything tangible, to avoid
suspicion. My mum is a teacher, while my father is a businessman and have been
responsible for the payment of my school fees.”
Victim’s
story
Explaining
how he was arrested, spokesperson for the Unit, Ngozi Insitume-Agu, said: “The
arrest followed a petition via the Unit’s website from one Amelia Brosick, a US
citizen, dated April 16, 2013, where she alleged that one Devon Miles,
suspected to be a Nigerian, defrauded her to the tune of $16,439 using
different tactics.
“She
added that she met the suspect on a dating site in June 2012, and the suspect,
under the guise of dating her for the purpose of marriage, obtained the alleged
sum fraudulently through Western Union.
“Armed
with the petition, Western Union was contacted and they sent a detailed spread
sheet showing all the transfers in the name of the suspect.
“Following
the information, the duo of Nnamdi Nwakwue Dike and Olawale Oguniran attached
to Western Union in Skye Bank, Owerri and Allen Avenue, Ikeja, branches,
respectively, were arrested.
“Their
revealing statements led to the arrest of the serial internet fraudster,
Chibuzor Akobundun also known as Devon Miles, Martin Williams and Sani Bala
Ismaila. He adopted Devon as the internet name, but opened the account in the
name of Martin Williams.
Accomplices
confess
“He
confessed that he provided the bank staff with the photocopy of his identity
card so that they could withdraw the monies, while he gave them some percentage.
“The
bank staff also confessed that they used Uche’s particulars to withdraw money
from other persons’ accounts without his knowledge.”
However,
Dike of the Owerri branch denied knowledge of what Akobundun was into. He
maintained that he was only doing his job as a front-line teller staff of the
bank, adding that he had never at any time paid Akobundu above the stipulated
amount.
He
said: “Anytime he came to collect the money, he would answer the question
given correctly, including the secret code.
“Mine
is to ascertain whether the details corresponded with what was in the system at
the end of which I would hand his money over to him.”
Asked
if he received any gratification from Akobundu, he said he was given tips of
N1,000 or N2,000 at times, just like some other bank customers do.
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