Canton residents charged in online fraud investigation
By Mike BergerSix people, including four residents of Canton, were charged last week in connection with their roles in expansive online fraud schemes targeting individuals in the United States, including romance scams and pandemic unemployment assistance fraud.
Canton police assisted in the arrest of some of the residents on Thursday, March 25, around 6 a.m. Charged by the U.S. Attorney’s Office with a single count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud were Canton residents Osakpamwan Henry Omoruyi, 36, and Osaretin Godspower Omoruyi, 34, and Macpherson Osemwegie, 32, of Hyde Park. Two other Canton residents, Mark Arome Okuo, 41, and Florence Mwende Musau, 36, were charged in a separate complaint with one count of conspiracy to commit wire and bank fraud. Mike Oziegbe Amiegbe, 42, of Dorchester, was charged in a third complaint with one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the defendants allegedly participated in a series of online scams designed to defraud victims into sending money to accounts and debit cards controlled by them. To carry out the schemes, they allegedly used fake passports in the names of numerous aliases to open bank accounts in and around Boston to collect and launder the proceeds of the romance scams. The defendants then allegedly executed large cash withdrawals from those accounts, often multiple times per day and generally structured in amounts less than $10,000, in an effort to evade detection and reporting requirements. The accounts were also allegedly used to collect fraudulent pandemic unemployment benefits in the names of Massachusetts beneficiaries who did not apply for such benefits. More than $4 million in total fraud proceeds were deposited into accounts allegedly controlled by the defendants. Assisting in the investigation were the FBI, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service, and the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration.
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Posted by Mike Berger
on Apr 3 2021. Filed under News, Police & Fire.
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