A gang of fraudsters who posed as bankers, financial gurus and potential love interests have been jailed after swindling people out of £1m.
Peters Akanno Obi, Soloman Adanegbe and Prince Braimah-Oboh preyed on victims across the world, conning them out of cash, which was laundered and stored in accounts in Greater Manchester.
The court heard that between May 2013 and July 2014, the gang posed as bank employees, potential love interests and financial advisers, attempting to con hundreds of thousands of people across Europe, the USA and Asia into depositing money into bogus accounts.
The cash was laundered, stashed in accounts in our region, before being funnelled offshore. Detectives from GMP’s Fraud Investigation Team arrested the men in July 2014. They seized blueprints for a house in Nigeria, fake cheques and high value receipts for international bank transfers.
When officers arrested Akanno-Obi, his laptop was switched on and he was logged on to a spoof banking website. He had been sending emails to people in Hong Kong, using multiple identities, trying to romance them into wiring him money.
Peters Akanno Obi, 42, of Stillwater Drive, Clayton, was jailed for seven years for conspiracy to commit fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering and possession of articles for use in fraud.
Soloman Adanegbe, 38, of Rowan Court, Salford, was jailed for seven years for conspiracy to commit fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering. Prince Braimah-Oboh, 49, of Powell Street, Clayton, was jailed for seven years conspiracy to commit fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
