Two Nigerian men, Okwudili Chinze, 44 and Ahmed Otun, 41, have been jailed for mandate fraud in the United Kingdom.
Chinze and Otun were part of an organized network of fraudsters who scammed people and amateur clubs. The two men were able to make a sum of £300,000 before being caught by the law.
On Friday, 17 November at Kingston Crown Court, Okwudili Chinze was sentenced to two years and eight months for conspiracy to commit fraud. He will also serve another 15 months for money laundering. Both sentences will run concurrently.
Okwudili Chinze
His accomplice Ahmed Otun, received a sentence of four years for conspiracy to commit fraud and 22 months for money laundering. He will serve both sentences concurrently.
Ahmed Otun
Apart from individuals and small clubs, Otun and Chinze also defrauded village halls and solicitor firms. The two Nigerians would send e-mails to organizations posing as the financial director or treasurer.
They would ask their victims to send a sum of money to them. The recipient would send the money to their accounts thinking that they are genuine.
“I would urge people to be very careful when moving and transferring money. Many of the victims linked to this case were tricked into sending money to criminals’ accounts after they were sent a spoof email with change of payment details.
“Always verify changes to financial arrangements with the organisation or person directly on the phone, or go via the company’s main switchboard to check if an email is genuine. Never reveal bank account details via email or on unsecure networks.
“Trust your instincts and always check before transferring money, because it will be extremely difficult to recover once you’ve sent it,” said Acting Detective Sergeant Matt Wigg of FALCON, the fraud unit of The Metropolitan Police Service in London.
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