The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has brought forward a 16-count criminal indictment against Kingsley Inegbedion and Efemena Igbe for allegations of Internet fraud and money laundering amounting to £1.5 million.
In the indictment lodged on May 14 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, Atlanta Division, Mr. Inegbedion and Mr. Igbe are accused of engaging in romance scams and business email compromise schemes, masquerading as legitimate businesses to deceive unsuspecting American citizens between April 2020 and May 2023.
Mr. Inegbedion, a network engineer who conducted training programs for aspiring tech professionals in Atlanta, had previously come to the attention of law enforcement, as per official documents.
The FBI mentioned that the fictitious corporate entities set up by the accused individuals had no physical presence, genuine income, or employee payroll. Victims were instructed to transfer funds to these accounts, which were made to look authentic, and the illicit proceeds were swiftly moved to other accounts within and outside the U.S. to obscure the fraudulent activities.
In one instance cited, in February 2021, £50,120 was withdrawn from Camtech’s Navy Federal account ending in 4893. Subsequently, another £60,000 was withdrawn in June 2021 from the same bank but a different account ending in 4854, registered under Kingtech Global Auto.
Additionally, the FBI uncovered a transaction involving the purchase of a £160,000 cashier’s cheque #4817 from Kingtech’s Truist account ending in 0619 in September 2022, alongside various other deceitful operations.
On certain occasions, the duo collaborated with unidentified individuals who directed victims via emails and other means to make payments into the fraudulent accounts.
Following an invitation by security agents for questioning, Mr. Igbe absconded to Nigeria before the indictment was finalised, leaving Mr. Inegbedion to address and contest the charges laid by the FBI.
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