$330K RECOVERED MONEY REPATRIATED IN GHASEMI CASE
FAMOUS 419 CASE SUCCESSFULLY RESOLVED
Dr. and Mrs. Shahla Ghasemi of Tampa, Florida announced today that $330K of recovered 419 lossed have been repatriated. The repatriated monies were electronically transferred directly into their bank account by the Central Bank of Nigeria.
The Ghasemi case was one of the most famous 419 cases over the last several years, and received widespread media coverage.
As many will recall, the Ghasemi case is the one in which the Central Bank of Nigeria, at a major event in New York in 2002 attended by former Nigerian President Obananjo, announced publicly with great fanfare that their six-figure losses had been recovered and were being repatriated. [See 419 Coalition 6 JUN 2007 News for recent developments in the case; 12 DEC 2000 News for a description of the case itself; and 26 and 29 SEP 2002 News for information on the Recovery and Repatriation announcement made by Central Bank of Nigeria. Also see the following News items (among others) for more News on the Case: in 2002 News - 31 JUL, 1 APR, 19 APR, 1 AUG, 10 AUG, 30 SEP, and 8 Oct 2002. There have been articles and comments on it in our more recent News sections as well.]
However, in the years between 2002 and the present, CBN kept coming up with an endless array of silly and unfounded excuses as to why the recovered funds could not be repatriated as promised.
This year at the urging of noted German 419 activist Frieda Springer-Beck, who lives on site in Nigeria, the Deputy Director of the Nigerian Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Mr. Ibrahim Lamorde took a Personal interest in the case. The Director of the EFCC, Mr. Nuhu Ribadu also looked into the matter personally, as did an agent of the US Secret Service onsite in Nigeria. The end result was, as given in the headline above, that Central Bank of Nigeria FINALLY repatriated monies to the Ghasemis in the amount of the monies recovered (though apparently no interest was paid on these monies CBN had ostensibly been holding for five years - perhaps CBN will send the interest along shortly).
Dr. and Mrs. Ghasemi thanked Director of the EFCC Nuhu Ribadu and Deputy Director Ibrahim Lamorde for their efforts in this matter. They also thanked Frieda Springer-Beck for her years of hard work on their behalf, and the Secret Service for assisting them in the final phases of the repatriation process. Finally, they thanked the 419 Coalition, a counter-419 educational NGO, for their six years of guidance in the handling of this case. However, it was the determination and the tenacity of Mrs. Ghasemi which ultimately brought the case to a successful close.
Silence is fraud's best friend. Word-of-mouth is fraud's worst enemy. Pass the word!
We are not attorneys. The suggestions provided by Fraud Aid, Inc. are not legal advice and are not intended to take the place of legal advice. You should always consult with an attorney. We are Fraud Victim Advocates who use our experience and knowledge to the best of our ability in guiding fraud victims in the proper direction. We strive to help all fraud victims but are not always able to do so.
In November of 2005, I went to Amsterdam with two missions.
First was to recover money for two clients.
Second was to do what I could to assist the city of Amsterdam in redressing their image as the “Lagos of Europe” in regards to their allowing the Nigerian 419 Scam to flourish in that city.
Below are some reports from third parties about my success:
From Ken, (The guy who hired me to confront the people who had his money)
Brian,
I admire your tenacity and brave efforts. You went farther than anyone
else would have. Thank you. I discussed the situation with my wife....Merry
Christmas...you may keep the
$5K. Again, very good
job.
Ken
From Dutch counter-419 parties who helped organize the media:
The article did do a great job and had the right timing for the big action,
Thank you for your support and being there at the right time:).
Coordinator, 419 Coalition:
We helped Brian to go to Amsterdam and asked him to look into
several matters for us. He did very well, exceeding our expectations.
Thanks, Brian!
Below is the article the Dutch counter-419 party referred to.
(Click on it to enlarge in
a new window.) Don’t
worry about not being able to read the text, as it is in Dutch. A condensed
translation
follows:
 |
30 NOV 2005 Amsterdam Centre of Nigerian Fraud AMSTERDAM - Amsterdam is the European Centre for Nigerian gangs Rene van der Wouw, detective for the Amsterdam police states that
the The police is trying to tackle these gangs via their internet
providers, When Dutch people are being scammed, it often happens from Madrid, At least once a year the police tries to get several scammers
caught, Two years ago, 53 Nigerians were caught in Amsterdam. Only one
person American fraud specialist Brian Wizard, is warning that the worldwide |
And finally, there was some law enforcement action, as Frank said there would be:
12 Nigerians Arrested in Netherlands
02.24.2006
Post CommentDUTCH police have arrested 12 Nigerians in connection with
an internet scam that tricked people into investing in non-existent schemes.
The Nigerians were detained on suspicion of committing fraud or involvement
in fraud in the scheme, which earned them a total $US2 million ($2.7
million).
They were arrested Tuesday after raids on premises in Amsterdam and the
central city of Zaandam, during which police seized ?‚¬25,000
($45,000) in cash, computers and fake travel documents.
Most of the victims of the scam were US citizens. Four of the men detained
were arrested on the request of US authorities, who co-operated on the
investigation.
The gang sent some 100,000 emails to potential victims, police said.
Computer users across the world are regularly bombarded by emails from
Nigerian crooks seeking to trick them into handing over bank details
or making advance payments on non-existent money-making schemes. Experts
say the so-called "419" fraudsters - named after the relevant
section in Nigeria's criminal code - steal hundreds of millions of dollars
every year from unsuspecting targets.
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