Category: Foreign

Nigerian man jailed in US for defrauding 400 elderly people of inheritance

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Okezie Ogbata, a 36-year-old Nigerian national, has been sentenced to 97 months jail term in the United States for his role in a $6 million transnational inheritance fraud scheme. The United States Department of Justice disclosed this in a statement released on Monday. Ogbata was found to be a member of a group of fraudsters that sent personalised letters to elderly people across the United States for several years. The scheme defrauded over 400 individuals, mostly elderly or vulnerable, resulting in losses of more than $6 million. The letters falsely…

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Osun monarch, pastor admit to COVID-19 fraud in US

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Oba Joseph Oloyede, the Apetu of Ipetumodu in Osun State, and a Nigerian pastor, Edward Oluwasanmi are facing possible prison sentences in the United States after pleading guilty to charges of COVID-19 relief fraud. Oba Oloyede, a US-based accountant and information system expert, was appointed the new Apetu in July 2019. The monarch and Oluwasanmi were arrested in early 2024 for their roles in a scheme to fraudulently obtain $4.2m in COVID-19 relief funds. The two men were charged with 13 counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud,…

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Nigerian-born US citizen arrested for $690,000 wire fraud, identity theft

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A naturalized United States citizen from Nigeria, Oladapo Olalekan Fadugba, has been indicted for wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, and making false statements in connection with obtaining U.S. citizenship. He may face up to 27 years in prison following his indictment . According to a statement from the United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida, Fadugba, 40, of Jacksonville, was charged after an investigation revealed that he allegedly diverted more than $690,000 in Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) funds, which were intended as reimbursements to a large…

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Harvard University sues Trump over funding cuts

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US President Donald Trump’s administration has been sued by Harvard on Monday in a sharp escalation of the fight between the prestigious university and the Republican, who has threatened its funding and sought to impose outside political supervision. Trump has sought to bring several prestigious universities to heel over claims they tolerated campus anti-Semitism, threatening their budgets, tax-exempt status and the enrolment of foreign students, but Harvard has refused to bow. “This case involves the Government’s efforts to use the withholding of federal funding as leverage to gain control of…

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Two killed as police officer’s son opens fire at US university

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A mass shooting at a university in Florida has left two men killed. The shooting was allegedly carried out by the son of a local deputy sheriff with her old service weapon, police in the southeastern US state said Thursday. Five people were wounded when the gunman — identified as Phoenix Ikner — rampaged through Florida State University, shooting at students, before he was shot by local law enforcement. A sixth person was hurt trying to run away from the shooting, Chief Lawrence Revell of the Tallahassee Police Department said…

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Mauritius ex-finance minister rearrested in new fraud probe

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Renganaden Padayachy, Mauritius’s former finance minister has been arrested Wednesday over a second fraud case, two days after having been released on bail over another affair, police said. The latest arrest of Renganaden Padayachy concerns alleged fraud against the Mauritius Investment Corporation (MIC), created in 2020 by the Bank of Mauritius to support businesses during the Covid-19 pandemic, said police. It was carried out at the request of the Financial Crimes Commission (FCC). In this case, police are investigating the MIC’s payment of approximately $1 million to Menlo Parks Ltd/Pulse…

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British Minister’s X account hacked to promote crypto scam

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A British minister’s X account was hacked on Tuesday to promote a fraudulent “House of Commons” cryptocurrency, her spokesperson said. “Lucy Powell’s personal X account was hacked this morning,” said a spokesman for the MP, who has been leader of the House of Commons since July. “Steps were taken quickly to secure the account and remove misleading posts,” he added. The verified account, followed by nearly 70,000 people, was used early Tuesday to spread a series of messages promoting the “House of Commons Coin ($HCC)” cryptocurrency, allegedly linked to the…

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Siemens top executive, wife and three children die in helicopter crash

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A couple who are senior corporate executives at Siemens have died along with their three children in an helicopter crash. Report says the corporate titans, Agustín Escobar and his wife, Mercè Camprubí Montal died with their three children, whose ages were four, five and 11. The pilot of the helicopter also died in the accident. The passengers died in a helicopter crash at Hudson River in New York while sightseeing. Siemens has sent its condolences, saying: “We are deeply saddened by the tragic helicopter crash in which Agustín Escobar and…

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Niger Republic adopts Hausa as national language, dumps French

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Niger Republic’s military government led by General Abdourahamane Tiani has declared Hausa as the country’s new national language, replacing it’s colonial master’s French language, in another decisive move to remove the influence of France from his country. “The national language is Hausa” while “the working languages are English and French,” the junta stated in a new charter published on March 31 in a special edition of the government’s official journal. Hausa is Niger’s most widely spoken language, particularly prevalent in the regions of Zinder, Maradi, and Tahoua. The language is…

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   Cyber fraud: Nigerian sentenced to eight years improvement in India

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A Nigerian national, Jefferson Eze Henry has been sentenced to eight years in prison by a Kolkata court for defrauding an elderly man of Rs 1 crore in 2021 through a cybercrime scheme. The court also imposed a fine of Rs 50,000 on Henry following his conviction under the Information Technology Act and the Indian Penal Code. Henry was found guilty of posing as an official from the Royal Bank of London to deceive the victim, Saibal Banerjee, through fake email IDs and websites. Investigations revealed that he used virtual…

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