The police explained that one man, Austin Newton, 28 was arrested in January, while the remaining four are at large. The four students along with Newton who were all living in Regina during the time are accused of defrauding victims of over $2 million through online romance scams over the past two years.The 28-year-old already in police custody faces numerous fraud-related charges, he is scheduled to make his next appearance at Regina provincial court on Tuesday, April 21. The warrants for the students were issued following an 18- month investigation that involved a series of surveillance operations, numerous interviews and the investigation of over 50 Canadian bank accounts.
The Saskatchewan RCMP in a press release said: “Police determined the five individuals have ties to what is believed to be a larger international criminal organization involved in the long-term running of online romance scams.” Police went on to note that they were shocked by the authenticity of these online romances and time the suspects devoted by to the people they victimized. It previously reported that about twenty-four individuals including thirteen Nigerians have been arrested by federal agents for their involvement in a $30 million fraud and money laundering operation in the United States.The US department of justice in a statement said the suspects duped many victims who are US citizens through romance fraud scams, business email compromise schemes, and retirement account scams, among other frauds. The statement by the U.S department of justice reads in parts: "Darius Sowah Okang is also charged with one count of bank fraud, and one count of aggravated identity theft. The indictment alleges that Okang created a bank account in a retirement scam victim’s name, which was then used to deposit approximately $288,000 in funds fraudulently withdrawn from the victim’s retirement account. In other news, not less than 12 internet fraudsters met their waterloo in Ilorin as operatives of Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) unleashed a clampdown on 'Yahoo- Yahoo' boys in Kwara state.
The antigraft commission, in a statement on its Facebook page on Thursday, March 19, said the internet fraudsters were nabbed by men of its Ilorin zonal office.EFCC said the operation was carried out within Ilorin Metropolis following an intelligence report and thorough investigation
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