LOS ANGELES — A Nigerian man who swindled three Californians out of more than $400,000 by demanding "tax" on bogus foreign lottery winnings was sentenced Tuesday to 14 years in federal prison. The people who typically fall for such scams "are older, sometimes people who have dementia and are lonely and need someone to talk to," an assistant U.S. attorney said.
One of Emmanuel I. Onwuzulike's victims, a San Fernando Valley woman, lost her home after she paid more than $368,000 for a phony "tax" on what she thought were millions of dollars in foreign lottery winnings, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
The 55-year-old Onwuzulike, who used the alias "Tony Moore," pleaded guilty in July to one count of mail fraud.
U.S. District Judge Dale S. Fischer sentenced him to 14 years in prison and ordered him to pay back his victims.
The sentence is a fairly stiff one and is part of a government crackdown on foreign scammers who prey on Americans, assistant U.S. attorney Ellyn M. Lindsay said in an interview.
"Hopefully the higher sentences that judges are now giving out for these kinds of frauds will have some kind of deterrent effect," she said. "We have an expertise here in prosecuting these defendants who commit these kind of frauds internationally, targeting victims all over the world."
Though not all of Onwuzulike's victims were elderly, seniors are most likely to fall for lottery and other scams, Lindsay said.
"The people who end up falling for it are older, sometimes people who have dementia and are lonely and need someone to talk to," she said.
Onwuzulike was part of a London-based group that took more than $2 million from 52 people, mostly elderly victims, between 2004 and 2006, according to prosecutors. Under the guise of fake companies such as "Euromillones Loteria International" and the "EU Anti-Terrorism Commission," the scammers lured their victims with tales of lottery and sweepstakes winnings. The victims were told to contact telemarketers in England and Spain, who informed them that they would have to pay a tax or fee to receive the prize. The victims sent the money, but the prizes never came, prosecutors said.
One Orange County woman fell victim to the scam in 2006 when she received a letter informing her that she'd won $815,950 from the "Euromillones Spanish Sweepstakes Lottery." She agreed to pay a 2 percent tax on the "winnings" and wired $16,319 to a bank account controlled by Onwuzulike, according to prosecutors. She received nothing in return.
"This case involves a serious fraud through which defendant and others stole money from victims who could hardly afford the loss," prosecutors wrote in sentencing papers. "This crime had devastating consequences for its victims, emotional as well as financial."
"Tony" won't get no MOORE money! I hope he serves the full prison term.
personally I think they ought to chop off his thumbs
bye bye Tony, Hope they get your cohorts.
should have been a longer sentence .. They spend a lot of man power to catch these guys..
If he's in a state with the death penalty, I say fry the turkey. You want to send a strong message? It's called the process of elimination. Start eliminating the problem, I bet these vermin will think long and hard before they start scamming again. Jail time is an insult. First they scam the victims then they live on our tax dollars in prison for years.
NO!!!
EXTERMINATE!!! EXTERMINATE!!!! EXTERMINATE!!!! <Dalek>
I wouldn't mind seeing some of the Scammers from Congress being incarcerated like this bum!
"I ask, Sir, what is the militia? It is the whole people. To disarm the people is the best and most effectual way to enslave them."
George Mason
Co-author of the Second Amendment
during Virginia's Convention to Ratify the Constitution, 1788
I used to feel sorry for victims of these scams then I stopped.
I realized that it's their desperation and greed that makes them victims.
And being senior citizens, they should know much better than that.
I have recieved numerous emails about being a recipient of USD 50,000,000 and I'm mad broke but I have never fallen for those.
I'm glad though that the scambug from Nigeria was arrested. I hope they get more of them and throw them in US jail...but thats like a raise hahaha I'm serious. Maybe arrange for them to be thrown in Nigerian Jails.
I tried to trick one of those morons by photocopying an actual Western Union sheet and photocopying false info into it. It looked pretty realistic, so I sent it to him. Apparently he brought it to the Western Union office in (where ever the hell he was) and tried to cash it. I think the shop owner told him to get out of his office, since he then emailed me back complaining to the hilt about falsifying my info.
Sucker.
Well, I wouldn't wish DIMENTIA or ALZHEIMERS disease on anyone, however perhaps the phrase, "Walk a mile in their footsteps," would provide you [and people who confusedly think like you in respect to this issue] with true realization. Many of these folks don't have income for admittance into a facility that would open their mail on their well-being behalf.
It is the ultimate insult for our country's few income tax payers to be paying for prison terms for thieves. In answer to an earlier member's post, if these criminals were sent back to their own third-world countries, many of them would be out walking around free again, as their "justice systems" are quite lax. The only capital punishment plan that is economical has always met with unacceptance by society, as most societies teach that judges and juries are essential and that accused/offenders will reverse their mode as time passes upon receiving heaps of compassion, etc.
That was very creative of you.
Never would've thought of this myself.
The player got played. Su Weet.........
Greed might often be the main motivation.
It's interesting to see their actual success rate is so low. They must have sent out billions of emails over the years to scam just 52 people. So I find it somewhat reassuring that so few people were convinced.
Thats GREAT!!!!!
Very well said.Wish they would start here and get these directors in our own state lotteries.It would be a happy state in Tennessee.We would throw a lottery party.
Nigerians have to be the all time, world champions of low level scamming. Back in the 80s, before the internet, I swear the cops in Atlanta would arrest 3or 4 a week on charges related to stolen credit cards and such. Amusers and decievers of the highest order for the most part.
He should have got life with the possibility of parol, as most of his gullible victims are paying the price for the rest of their lives, even though he has been asked to pay back all his victims, he isn't going to do that am sure he's going to declare himself bankrupt
That stinks! How's he going to pay me the 10 million British Pounds Sterling I won if he's in the clink?
Too funny...YOU were fasifying information? No chit, wonder what he call his act of trying to scam you.
These scams demonstrate why lotteries should be legal, if we didn't have legal lotteries, more money would be spent on illegal lotteries. Prohibition did not work with alcohol, it is not working with drugs, and it will not work with lotteries.