Sultan Anifowoshe, son of veteran Fuji musician, Kwam 1, has been arrested in the United States along with 8 other Nigerians as the Justice Department conducts an international investigation into “romance scams” and “mystery shopper” schemes that made victims lose at least $2 million over the past two years.
Law enforcement identified internet-enabled fraud schemes carried out by alleged conspirators in the US and Nigeria through the Chicago-based investigation, “Operation Gold Phish”.
Nine defendants including KWAM 1’s son, 26-year-old Sultan Omogbadebo Anifowoshe were arrested in Illinois. Others are Daniel Samuel Eta, 35, Babatunde Ladehinde Labiyi, 20, Barnabas Oghenerukevwe Edjieh, 29, Babatunde Ibraheem Akarigidi, 39, Miracle Ayokunle Okunola, 21, Olurotimi Akitunde Idowu, 55.
Adewale Anthony Adewumi, 27, was arrested in Texas, and Olaniyi Adeleye Ogungbaiye, 26, aka DonChiChi, was arrested in Lagos, Nigeria.
According to the affidavit, The group of alleged fraudsters are said to channel the funds into their personal bank accounts or overseas, often Nigeria.
At least three times, the money was used to pay for vehicles on behalf of a Nigerian car company owned by one of the defendants. The charge in the complaint carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
In addition to the romance and mystery shopper schemes, the complaint accuses the conspirators of engaging in various other cyber-enabled scams, including investment and employment frauds. The conspirators also defrauded victims by targeting corporate email accounts, the complaint states.