FBI Take Down! Nigerians Arrested for Scamming Millions from Elderly and Vulnerable Women

08/23/201909/21/2019 ~ Ann Corcoran ~ 5 Comments

“We believe this is one of the largest cases of its kind in U.S. history.”

(US Attorney Nick Hanna)

The FBI announced this week that over a dozen were under arrest in the US and efforts were being made to find additional co-conspirators around the world in fraud schemes involving at least 32 victims.

nigerian romance scammers — Nigerians (new American entrepreneurs!) arrested in Los Angeles on Thursday. https://www.stripes.com/news/us/fbi-takes-down-nigerians-pretending-to-be-u-s-troops-in-46m-romance-scam-1.595476

Here is The Hill on this good news,

Justice charges 80 in massive online fraud case linked to Nigerian defendants

The Department of Justice on Thursday unsealed a 252-count federal indictment charging 80 defendants, many of whom are Nigerian nationals, with conspiring to steal millions of dollars through online scams.

The indictment was unsealed by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California and was made public shortly after authorities arrested 14 of the defendants across the United States, with 11 of these defendants apprehended in the Los Angeles region. The majority of the defendants are outside the country, with many likely in Nigeria.

The defendants involved in the case were charged with attempting to defraud individuals of millions of dollars through the use of business email compromise (BEC) and online romance scams, in addition to other schemes meant to target the elderly.

The investigation is being led by the FBI, with each of the defendants charged with “conspiracy to commit fraud, conspiracy to launder money, and aggravated identity theft,” according to Justice Department. Some defendants also face fraud and money laundering charges.

U.S. Attorney Nick Hanna described the scams used by the defendants during a press conference on Thursday, saying that “fraud networks now target individuals and businesses alike.”

“In the BEC scams, the fraudsters will often hack a company’s email system, impersonate company personnel, and direct payments to bank accounts that funnel money back to the fraudsters in Nigeria,” Hanna said. “In the romance scams, victims think they are developing a dating relationship, when in fact they are just being tricked into sending money to the fraudsters.”

Hanna added that “we believe this is one of the largest cases of its kind in U.S. history.”

Paul Delacourt, the assistant director in charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles field office, said during the same press conference that losses involved in this case for victims total around $10 million. He said defendants attempted to obtain $40 million from victims.

There were at least 32 victims in the case, from the United States and other countries including Japan, the United Kingdom, Lebanon, Ukraine, China, Mexico, Germany, Indonesia, the United Arab Emirates, and Trinidad and Tobago.

Delacourt said the case began in 2016 after one individual was victimized by the defendants. The two main defendants in the case are Nigerian citizens Valentine Iro and Chukwudi Christogunus Igbokwe.

More here.

And, don’t miss the Stars and Stripes story about how some of the crooks pretended to be US military personnel when they scammed hundreds of thousands from lonely women.

I know you are shaking your head and wondering who in their right mind would be so foolish to send money to a stranger they met on the internet. Well, as we have heard in previous posts on Nigerian romance scammers, these Nigerian creeps are skilled actors and preying on vulnerable and lonely people seems to come naturally to them.

Keep an eye on your elderly friends and family members and don’t let them fall for these despicable scams.

Trump Administration Proposal Would Limit Refugee Placement to Only Towns/States that Want Them!

08/22/201909/21/2019 ~ Ann Corcoran ~ 11 Comments

It is a “malevolent and wasteful plan to concentrate refugees in blue states.”

(Mark Hetfield of the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society)

Sounds like a good plan, but it does have problems which unfortunately I haven’t the time to discuss this morning. The biggest problem is that it is a band aid. The entire Refugee Program should be scrapped in my opinion.

That said, it sure is fun to watch Trump twist their tails!

From NBC News,

Trump admin weighs letting states, cities deny entry to refugees approved for resettlement in U.S.

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is considering a new policy that would allow state and local jurisdictions to deny entry to refugees who have been approved for resettlement in the United States, according to a draft of an executive order obtained by NBC News.

Mark Hetfield at NY anti-Trump rally!

According to the draft, “the federal government will resettle refugees only where both the relevant state and local governments have consented to participate” in the program that allows refugees to resettle.

The plans are currently out for review by lawyers and counterparts at various government agencies, a senior DHS official said.

If a state or local jurisdiction does not agree to take in refugees, the federal government will have to find another location, according to the draft. An exception to this rule would be made in the case of resettling spouses or children of refugees already settled.

The White House and the Department of Homeland Security did not respond to requests for comment.

Refugee rights organizations have long advocated for refugees to be relocated in areas where there are already refugees of the same country living to create a sense of community for those fleeing violence and persecution.

It is wonderful how the President gets them to show their colors!

Here a former Obama official admits there wouldn’t be enough ‘welcoming’ states and cities (if given the opportunity to say NO!) to accommodate all the refugees the refugee industry is demanding.

Booregard — Peter Boogaard, photo from his twitter account: https://twitter.com/pboogaard

Peter Boogaard, who worked on immigration issues in the Obama White House, said the executive order would hinder religious organizations, like the Catholic Church, from resettling immigrants in states around the country and “would also have a dramatic impact on the ability of future administrations to return refugee admissions to the normal historic levels.”

[….]

If carried out, the draft executive order on refugees would undermine efforts to resettle them and violate the intent of a 1980 law that clearly grants the federal government authority over refugee policy, said Mark Hetfield, president and CEO of the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS), which works to resettle refugees under State Department agreements.

“Governors could elect not to take part in the refugee resettlement program. That would have a horrible impact on the program. That would literally be an abdication of federal authority,” Hetfield said.

He called it a “malevolent and wasteful plan to concentrate refugees in blue states.”

More here.

To add fuel to the fire, tell Trump you like the idea, but it doesn’t go far enough!

Department of Homeland Security NOW Collecting Biometric Data on Refugees

08/22/201909/21/2019 ~ Ann Corcoran ~ 1 Comment

Just now?

Facial-Recognition-tool-e1564154896685 (1)

Didn’t we hear for years during Obama’s presidency that all refugees were being screened and that included the use of so-called biometric data collection?

Every time I saw the Open Borders pushers say that I laughed because what good is the data if there was no data base to compare it to.

Well, we learn here that the Trump Administration is collecting the data on wannabe refugees and groups like Human Rights Watch are squawking! Of course they are!

If wannabe New Americans have nothing to hide, what is the problem?

From Newsmax,

Report: DHS Collecting Biometric Data on Refugees

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has been collecting biometric information for months on refugees who are referred for resettlement — retaining the data even if they never enter the country.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees every year sends profiles on refugees for potential resettlement to federal agencies, according to a report Wednesday by Defense One.

The agencies use the information to determine which refugees may enter the United States. The data include names, birthdates and countries of origin. [Pretty easy to cheat on these things!—-ed]

However, “as of late” the information includes biometric data, Defense One reports.

In January, the United Nations agency contracted with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to share fingerprints, iris scans, face images and other biometric data on the refugees referred for resettlement.

According to Defense One, the agency said the data will help U.S. officials better identify and vet potential refugees.

“Biometric verification guards against substitution of individuals or identity fraud in the resettlement process,” USCIS officials said in a privacy impact assessment for the program.

“Many refugees live for long periods in asylum countries, and the use of biometrics ensures that there is [an] unbroken continuity of identity over time and between different locations.”

[….]

Amos Toh of Human Rights Watch

United Nations data cited by Defense One showed that fewer than a quarter of the nearly 85,000 cases reviewed by USCIS last year led to refugees being admitted to the U.S.

Wow! We rejected 33,485 refugee applicants that apparently had been selected by the UN for us! What does that tell you! A lot of cheaters?

The agency rejected 33,485 referrals and closed 30,438 more cases for unspecified reasons.

Human Rights Watch is not happy!

“A centralized database of biometric data belonging to refugees, without appropriate controls, could really lead to surveillance of those refugees as well as potentially coercive forms of scrutiny,” Amos Toh, an artificial intelligence researcher at Human Rights Watch, told Nextgov.com.

If the ‘refugees’ are not liars, cheaters, crooks, murderers, or terrorists, why should it matter if their biometric data is kept on file? One of these days they might show up at the southern border and we would want to know who they are—right!

Continue reading here.

Judicial Watch Major Court Victory: Montgomery County, Maryland Must Clean up Voter Rolls!

08/21/201909/21/2019 ~ Ann Corcoran

Since we are on the subject of sanctuary county—Montgomery County, MD (see my previous post)—here is a bit of good news for a change! (Hat tip: Cathy)

Thank God for Judicial Watch! Note that it took TWO full years before the county is being forced to comply.

From JW’s press release:

JUDICIAL WATCH VICTORY: FEDERAL COURT ORDERS MARYLAND TO PRODUCE VOTER REGISTRATION LIST DATA TO JUDICIAL WATCH

(Washington, DC) – Judicial Watch announced today that a federal court has ordered the State of Maryland to produce voter list data for Montgomery County, the state’s biggest county. The court ruling comes in the Judicial Watch lawsuit filed July 18, 2017, against Montgomery County and the Maryland State Boards of Elections under the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (NVRA).

The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, Baltimore Division (Judicial Watch vs. Linda H. Lamone, et al. (No. 1:17-cv-02006)). The decision follows NVRA-related Judicial Watch successes in California and Kentucky that could lead to removal of up to 1.85 million inactive voters from voter registration lists. The NVRA requires states to take reasonable steps to clean up its voting rolls and to make documents about its voter list maintenance practices available to anyone who asks.

Judicial Watch had sought the Maryland voter list data after discovering that there were more registered voters in Montgomery County than citizens over the age of 18 who could register.

[….]

The dispute over the voter registration list arose from an April 11, 2017, notice letter sent to Maryland election officials, in which Judicial Watch explained Montgomery County had an impossibly high registration rate. The letter threatened a lawsuit if the problems with Montgomery County’s voter rolls were not fixed. The letter also requested access to Montgomery County voter registration lists in order to evaluate the efficacy of any “programs and activities conducted for the purpose of ensuring the accuracy and currency of Maryland’s official eligible voter lists during the past 2 years.”

Democrat Maryland officials, in response, attacked and smeared Judicial Watch by suggesting it was an agent of Russia.

More here.

Just a reminder! Maryland is run by the Dems even as it has a Republican (never Trumper!) governor.

Another Rape in Montgomery County, MD, Sanctuary to Illegals

08/21/201909/21/2019 ~ Ann Corcoran ~ 8 Comments

I know you are probably saying this is happening in every sanctuary city, county and state in America, but since I once lived in MoCo, these cases are of great interest.

(See my post from Saturday about two Salvadorans raping a child, here.)

Indeed the police there have notoriously bent over backward to please the multiculturally diverse population including the huge numbers of Central Americans—Salvadorans, Guatemalans and Hondurans—who have migrated there drawn no doubt by the county’s sanctuary status.

Today’s alleged rapist is Honduran, but you wouldn’t know that from the Montgomery County, PD press release. (Hat tip: Gail.)

KevinMendoza-1000x288 — Well, at least we have to give the PD credit for posting his pic!

Suspect Arrested for Silver Spring Rape and Attempted Second-Degree Murder of Victim

Detectives from the Montgomery County Police Department – Special Victims Investigations Division (SVID) have arrested and charged Kevin Mendoza, age 26, of the 8500 block of 16th Street in Silver Spring, with the first-degree rape and attempted second-degree murder of an adult female that occurred at an apartment building in Silver Spring.

On August 16 at approximately 11:55 p.m., officers responded to the report of a rape that had just occurred at an apartment building in the 8500 block of 16th Street. Investigation by SVID detectives has determined that the victim was carrying items from her vehicle parked in the parking lot to the apartment building when she noticed a male that appeared to be following her. As she unlocked the door to the building, the male suspect grabbed her from behind and threw her to the floor. The victim attempted to yell and resist but the suspect began to strangle her with his hands. As the victim continued to attempt to escape the suspect struck her multiple times in the face and head with a closed fist. The suspect then raped the victim.

The victim was transported to a local hospital for treatment of multiple injuries sustained during the attack. Doctors advised detectives that the severity of the strangulation the victim suffered could have resulted in her death.

Through investigation, Mendoza, who is a former resident of the apartment building in which he committed the rape, was developed as a suspect.

Today, at approximately 10:34 a.m., officers arrested Mendoza on Ross Road in Silver Spring. He was transported to the Central Processing Unit and charged with first-degree rape, attempted second-degree murder, and first-degree assault. Bond information is not available at this time.

[End of press release.]

But get this….

No mention in that press release about Mendoza’s nationality or immigration status.

So, I had a little look around and guess what!

ICE has lodged a detainer against him—a Honduran illegal alien!

From Fox 5:

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) deportation officers lodged a detainer with the Montgomery County Detention Center Tuesday on a 26-year-old man who police say violently attacked a woman in Silver Spring last week.

[….]

According to ICE, Mendoza is a Honduran National who is unlawfully present in the U.S.

ICE released the following statement on detainers Tuesday:

“Detainers serve as a legally-authorized request, upon which a law enforcement agency may rely, to continue to maintain custody of an alien for up to 48 hours so that ICE may assume custody for removal purposes. Pursuant to ICE policy, all ICE detainers are submitted with an accompanying administrative arrest warrant or warrant of removal depending upon the circumstances of the individual case. “

I’m wondering if the police in this wealthy county adjoining Washington, DC are having any second thoughts about the county’s sanctuary status and their long-held practice of leaving the illegal aliens alone?