Contact Us

Friday, July 04, 2014

Nigerian man jailed for 8yrs in the UK for scamming pensioners with fake lottery

Found this report on UK's Daily Mail about a Nigerian man
named Frank Onyeachonam, who has been jailed for eight
years in the UK for running a lottery scam which targeted
vulnerable pensioners, stole from $3,000 to $800,000 and
spent the money to fund his lavish lifestyle. Full story
below..
A fraudster nicknamed 'Fizzy' because of his love of
champagne has been jailed for eight years for conning
vulnerable pensioners out of their life savings.
Frank Onyeachonam ran the UK end of global lottery
scam that was orchestrated from his native Nigeria for
seven years to fund his lavish millionaire's lifestyle.
It involved hundreds of perpetrators in several
countries, detectives say.
In the UK, 38-year-old Onyeachonam conned
pensioners out of sums from £2,000 to £600,000,
deliberately targeting his victims because they were
potentially vulnerable to his tactics. Continue...
While he bled them of their life savings, Onyeachonam
enjoyed a life of fast cars, champagne and designer
clothes.
Pictures he posted on Facebook show he spent the cash on
Gucci, Louis Vuitton and Armani designer clothes, Rolex
watches, Porsches and Maseratis.
He even stuck wads of what look like £50 notes in his Buzz
Lightyear toy.
Onyeachonam, of Canning Town, east London, was found
guilty at the Old Bailey of conspiracy to defraud following a
three-week trial.
Lawrencia Emenyonu, 38, and Bernard Armah, 51, both of
Wood Green, north London, were also found guilty of
money laundering. All three denied the charges.
Emenyonu was jailed for 18 months while her partner
Armah received an eight-month term.
Judge Rebecca Poulet QC, said there had been 'some very
serious outcomes' for the victims caught up in the scam.
She told married father-of-two Onyeachonam: 'I judge your
culpability to be very high. This was a very well thought
out operation, sophisticated in both its planning and its
operation.
'Mr Onyeachonam, you targeted these individuals because
they were elderly and likely to agree and be tricked by this
scam.'
This was demonstrated in the fraudster's own notes in
which he described them as 'crippled, old or poor', she
said.

No comments:

Post a Comment