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Nigerian scam artist sentenced | Forum

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billyHill Moderator
billyHill Apr 23 '15
Original article located here :
https://wane.com/2015/04/22/nigerian-scam-artist-sentenced/

Nigerian scam artist sentenced100_0254Published: April 22, 2015, 11:40 am  Updated: April 23, 2015, 9:37 amMug shot of Kazeem Owonla provided by the Kosciusko County Sheriff's Dept.Mug shot of Kazeem Owonla provided by the Kosciusko County Sheriff's Dept.

WARSAW, Ind. (WANE) A Nigerian man, who was arrested last year by Kosciusko County detectives in connection to a financial scam, was sentenced last week and is now in federal custody.

Kazeem Owonla, 44, was sentenced in Kosciusko County Superior Court after pleading guilty to Count II, theft, a class D felony. Owonla’s sentencing included an incarceration in the Kosciusko County Jail of 36 months, with 26 month suspended. Owonla was also ordered by the court to pay victim’s restitution, cost and various fines in excess of $16,000 prior to his release from jail, according to Kosciusko County Prosecuting Attorney Daniel Hampton.

Owonla was initially taken into custody by officers from the Atlanta Police Department after he landed in the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on November 12, 2014. Agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation had tracked Owonla as he was returning to the United States. Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Department deputies had originally investigated a theft on June 28 of that year involving a female victim that had been scammed of thousands of dollars. As detectives progressed with their investigation, they discovered that Owonla had used various aliases, as well as a non-authorized photograph of Montana Attorney General Tim Fox as a profile “pic” to lure females.

During the course of the investigation, sheriff’s detectives were able to positively connect Owonla to the Kosciusko County victim, along with a second female victim in Clarksville, Ohio. Investigators had determined that Owonla also had other various banking accounts, but were unobtainable by law enforcement. Agents and detectives speculate that there are other potential victims that Owonla might have systematically scammed using other names and aliases.

Owonla was taken into custody at the Kosciusko County Jail by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents on Monday.



Jstnona
Jstnona Apr 29 '15
I was reading that he scammed one lady for $100,000 and another for 50,000.  An that is all the punishment he is to get?   Think he still has a FB profile up.  ? ? Kazeem Owonia
billyHill Moderator
billyHill Apr 29 '15
sure looks like the same guy in the mug shot, Nona. Good find !!

Keep in mind, not only does he have to serve that time, he must pay restitution to the vics, court ( and prosecution) costs, and 16 grand + in other fines.... all PRIOR to getting out of jail. All though, I agree, it is far from enough punishment. a few years of 3 hots and a cot and he gets out of this country scott free. My guess is ICE (or some gov't agency) will even pay his ticket back to Nigeria. Unfortunately, it won't be a boat with a hole in the bottom of it.

Granted, chances are good that not everything he stole was traceable, so he won't be paying back all restitution to all victims..... but on the other hand, if all of the victims had filed police reports, it would have been easier to find the victims to restore their money to them.

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