Three men are set to be extradited to the US after allegedly scamming vulnerable old people out of millions of dollars after being arrested in south London.
Jonathan Iheanyichukwu Abraham, Emmanuel Samuel and Jerry ‘Chucks’ Ozor, all in their forties and originally from Nigeria, were arrested in south London area on Wednesday morning (April 27), and taken to Westminster Magistrates Court for extradition proceedings to begin. They were then remanded in custody.
The men are suspected of running a fraud operation working with criminals in Spain and Portugal to steal millions from mainly elderly and vulnerable people in the US.
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The fraudsters allegedly sent unexpected letters to people to tell them that a long lost relative had died and that they were in line to inherit their assets. Victims were then coaxed into paying charges and costs to release the assets – sometimes suffering life-changing losses.
Thousands of victims have been targeted and police have already uncovered fraud worth millions of dollars.
Senior investigating officer at the National Crime Agency David Smithers said: “Anyone can be a victim of fraud, but this scam was particularly cruel as it repeatedly and deliberately targeted the elderly and vulnerable.
“This joint operation demonstrates the complexity of organised fraud, which is often transnational and involves dispersed networks of ruthless criminals working together to identify and target victims.
“Proceedings will now commence to extradite these suspects to the US to face prosecution.
“The NCA is committed to tackling high risk serious and organised criminals, including those involved in serious fraud, which can ruin the lives of victims.
“We will continue to work closely with international partners to build our intelligence picture and tackle the perpetrators.”