The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has arrested Egbedayo Semilore and Elijah Jeremiah aka (jerry), a self-styled fashion Director of Datsol Industries Ltd. for alleged Internet fraud.
This is contained in a statement issued by Head, Media and Publicity of EFFC, Mr Wilson Uwujaren, on Friday in Abuja.
Wilson said that Semilore, 26, had engaged in Internet love scam while Jeremiah, 29, was a predator on online auction sites.
He said Semilore posed as an Afghan-based U.S. Army Officer with the names Sgt. Shaft Pagan, and Perrie Edingson allegedly defrauded unsuspecting ladies.
“His last victim was one P. J. (full names withheld), a U.S. national from whom he claimed to have obtained about N4 million in tranches and bought himself a car,’’ he said.
He said that though arrested differently, the suspects had both made confessional statements.
The EFCC spokesman said that Jeremiah had confessed to using fake instruments to order goods from China through online auction sites.
According to him, he downloads Letters of Credit purportedly issued by Scotia Online Financial Services of Scotia bank worldwide from Google with which he pays for his purchases.
He said that the auctioneers, unaware of his antics often fell victim of his game by shipping the goods to him ahead of confirmation of payment.
Uwujaren said Semilore, during interrogation also confessed to have used proceeds of romance scam to sustain a flamboyant lifestyle and bought himself a 2010 Lexus car which he registered in his mother’s name.
He said that operatives recovered several items from the suspects.
The items are: one laptop, three modems, one iphone and two Nokia phones, international Passport, forged Union Bank Statement of Account with NUBAN number:10141411389 for Datsol Industries Limited and an envelope containing several documents were recovered from Jeremiah.
He said that three identity cards bearing different names and biodata, a 2010 Black Toyota Lexus car with registration number (Lagos) SMK 475 EH, two laptops and one Blackberry Passport phones were also recovered from Semilore.
Uwujaren said that several scam mails were also found and retrieved from his laptops.
He said that They would be arraigned in court as soon as investigation is completed.(NAN)