Get Guardian on GoogleNigeria’s anti-graft agency on Tuesday said a suspected fraudster on the Federal Bureau of Investigations, Felix Osilama Okpoh, has reported himself to the agency’s office.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission in a tweet said it has commenced an investigation into Felix involvement in a $6m internet scam.
Felix alongside five others, Nnamdi Orson, Kayode Biola Ayorinde, Ogunshakin Alex Afolabi, Olorunyomi Michael and Uzuh Richard Izuchukwu, were listed by the United States authorities in June for their involvement in the scam.
“Today, in coordination with the U.S. Department of Justice, the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control took action against six Nigerian nationals, pursuant to Executive Order 13694 as amended,” US Department of State disclosed this in a statement signed by the Secretary of State Michael Pompeo.
DoJ said the Nigerians were indicted “for conducting an elaborate online scheme to steal more than $6 million from victims across the United States.”
The six Nigerians, DoJ disclosed, manipulated their victims to gain access to their sensitive information and financial resources.
The US authorities vowed to use all of the tools at its disposal to defend the American people and businesses from malign actors that seek to target them, including cyber-enabled actors who prey on vulnerable Americans and businesses.
DoJ, however, believes that the six Nigerians and other cyber fraudsters were negatively utilising the opportunities provided by technology through the internet.
“Technological advancements that provide greater interconnectivity also offer greater opportunity for exploitation by malicious actors who target at-risk Americans,” DoJ said.
