Nigerian Scammer Nailed with 12-Year Prison Sentence
Nigerian Scammer Nailed with 12-Year Prison Sentence
Posted 09/06/2010 at 6:17am
| by Paul Lilly
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Okpako Mike Diamreyan, a 31-year-old citizen of Nigeria, was sentenced to 151 months of imprisonment and three years of supervised release by United States District Judge Janet C. Hall for his role in an Internet "advanced fee" scam.
"The dependent and his accomplices preyed on vulnerable victims in Connecticut, the United States, and around the world, leaving many individuals and their families in financial ruin," stated U.S. Attorney Fein. "The lengthy prison term imposed today should send a strong message to others who intent to commit similar crimes -- we will pursue these cases wherever they lead us and bring you to justice. I want to single out the DCIS and their agents who worked this case tirelessly and thoroughly and helped achieve justice for victims."
According to U.S. officials, Diamreyen ran his operation from August 2004 through August 2009 by sending out emails claiming he had a consignment stored in Ghana. He told his victims the loot was worth anywhere from $11.5 million to $23.4 million and offered them a 20 percent cut if they'd help him transfer the money to the U.S.
The scheme worked at least 67 times, netting Diamreyan more than $1.3 million. Diamreyen was also ordered to pay a little over $1 million in restitution.
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dracx619
September 06, 2010 at 6:30pm
speaking of scammers and spammers. how do these guys keep posting? and NO ONE ON THIS WEBSITE IS STUPID ENOUGH TO GO TO YOUR SHIT SITES SO GO AWAY.
Signal2Noise
September 06, 2010 at 1:57pm
So...in other words, there will *really* be a Nigerian in prison and will require $150000 to post bail with a promise of a million dollars profit to the email donor once said prisoner is freed. I await the email.
Stack42
September 06, 2010 at 9:31am
Compassion for our fellow man? These people aren't doing this for the chance to help some poor foreigner. They agree to these scams for greed, the chance to get a big cut of fake money. They aboslutely don't deserve their money back or any compassion from anyone. Ridiculous.
Jelson
September 06, 2010 at 1:04pm
I wounder how many people would fall for the scam, if they weren't promised a cut of the imaginary funds?
I'm guessing not many.
jraschke11
September 06, 2010 at 7:04am
If you were stupid enough to fall for this, you don't deserve to get your money back. I would agree with prosecuting this guy under some kind of SPAM law, but I have no problem with what he did.
It's like if I walk up to you on the street and ask for a dollar, and you say "Why?" And I tell you it's for my vacation on Mars with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and with that dollar I will bring you back a moon rock. Ridiculous...yeah it is. So is thinking you get free money by helping a random stranger import something in to the U.S.
People completely deserve to have lost their money for falling for it, plain and simple.
smashingpumpin
September 06, 2010 at 7:39pm
It's all about taking sides and for this I ask you, so who would you rather side on... A thieving scammer from outside the country raking in thousands of dollars that won't be used to benefit their own country's well-being or the victims who are fellow countrymen who were dumbfucks to fell for it and are most likely tax paying citizens as you are?
SilverSurferNHS
September 06, 2010 at 9:11am
Its because of people like you that this stuff spreads rampantly and breeds more and more. It is also not as transparent or blatantly obvious to some people that these things are scams, especially the elderly - or someone new to email.
Him and all his accomplices deserve at least a sentence and for their equipment to be taken by authorities.
Maybe the reason you don't really give a crap is because you never really met or were conned in a real con; don't think it can't happen to you, because your "intelligence" is "superior". Thats their number one game.
Shame on you for your lack of compassion for your fellow man.
Biceps
September 06, 2010 at 7:22pm
Absolutely! If instead elderly people had been getting these cons via singing telegram, they never would have fallen for the scam!
People who fell for this one - deserving or not - epitomize the term 'gullible'. Don't use lack of familiarity with email or an overabundance of experience (age) as an excuse for someone who just had to believe something that was obviously too good to be true was true.
My question is why it took so long to catch this guy, and how many more there are out there who haven't yet been nailed. Ooooo... let me check my junk mail folder!!
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