Olaniyi Victor Makinde the internet fraudster, who is top on the
wanted list of the United States of America’s Federal Bureau of
Investigation, FBI has been arrested in Akure, the Ondo state capital by
Nigeria’s anti-graft police, EFCC.
A source in FBI had hinted iReports-ng that Makinde who is also known
as Olaniyi Jones and Andrea Bradley was wanted by the San Francisco
Division of the FBI. According to the source, the US government viewed
the activities of Makinde seriously and as such had to send three FBI
agents including a supervisory special agent and two special agents, to
Nigeria last quarter to meet with their Nigerian counterparts over the
arrest of the fraudster. The fraudster was eventually arrested on
September 6 last year.
iReports-ng learnt that the FBI agents were also joined by another
official of the US consulate Lagos to obtain statements from Makinde
when he was eventually arrested by EFCC operatives ahead of their
request for his extradition to the US to face trial with some of his
American accomplices in the serial fraud. The Nigerian authorities were
said to have reached an agreement with the FBI agents to prosecute
Makinde in Nigeria before considering handing him over to the US
government. He was said to have been arraigned before a high court judge
in Akure on November 26 last year over a $620,225.04 fraud and later
remanded at a prison custody in the state capital.
It was however drama galore on Tuesday, January 11, when the 26-year
old internet fraudster already in custody at the Olokuta medium prison,
Akure , was docked again by EFCC, over a fresh $150,000 scam. The
fraudster, Olaniyi Victor Makinde, a fresh graduate of the University of
Ado Ekiti , was docked at an Akure High Court presided by Justice A.O
Adebusuyi on a 14 count charge bordering on obtaining money by false
pretense and stealing. In his first arraignment before Justice
Olasehinde Kumuyi of the same Court, nine count charges were preferred
against him also bordering on stealing and obtaining money by false
pretence. He allegedly obtained a total of $620,225.04 from two
Americans: Marilou Sibbaluca and John Massoni in a marriage scam.
However, the accused pleaded not guilty to all the charges preferred
against him. Trouble started for Makinde when investigations revealed
that he had been defrauding several foreigners, especially Americans in
marriage scam and related offences, through the internet. He was also
accused of masterminding serious hacking practices against an American
online pay roll services company, Intuit, in California .
When the latest 14 count charges were read to him, he pleaded not
guilty to them. The defence counsel, Mr. A.A. Adetunji, thereafter made
an oral application for bail which was successful. The judge granted the
accused bail in the sum of N20million with two sureties in like sum who
must swear to an affidavit of means of livelihood and with landed
property in Akure. He also granted the prosecution’s prayer for the
accelerated hearing of the case. The Judge added that during the trial
he would not entertain any frivolous application meant to delay the
trial and he threatened to revoke the bail granted the accused if there
was any delay. He therefore adjourned the case to February 21 -25 for
trial. The accused person has not been granted bail on the initial
charges preferred against him. Justice Adebusuyi reserved ruling on the
bail application till January 18
Makinde finished with second class honours in Economics from UNAD. He
started his 419 heist early 2009 while he was still an undergraduate.
He and other members of his gang who are now at large went to a dating
site on the internet and started chatting with some American ladies and
men who fell prey to their 419 scheme. Depending on the sex of his
victim, Makinde sometimes presented himself as an American woman looking
for a husband and to make assurance doubly sure, he would download a
beautiful picture of an American lady from the internet and sent it to
the victim as his picture. If the victim is a woman he would do the
exact opposite. This way, Makinde had been fleecing his victims until
the game was up for him.
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