Nigerian Man sought by US authorities for scamming New York State of more than $30 million

A Nigerian man has been proclaimed wanted by the US for scamming New York State of a whopping $30 million.

The United States are accusing the 29-year-old Nigerian man, Chidozie Collins Obasi, of cheating certain hospitals in the country of $31 million by purportedly selling COVID-19 ventilators that didn’t exist.

In a statement released on Friday, the US Department of Justice (DoJ) said that between September 2018 and June 2020, the suspect allegedly operated the scam out of Nigeria with the assistance of foreign co-conspirators.

Through a convoluted fraud plan, Obasi and his associates are accused of obtaining more than $31,000,000, the most of which came from the State of New York.

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The scheme alleged in the Indictment began in September 2018, with a spam email campaign that offered phony “work from home” jobs.

When a person responded to the phony job offer, Obasi or a co-conspirator posed as a representative of a legitimate company, often a supposed medical equipment supplier based outside the United States, and offered the person a job as the company’s U.S. representative with responsibilities including collecting on outstanding invoices.

In 2020, Obasi went further to pose as a ventilator salesman for an Indonesian medical supply company.

According to reports, Obasi allegedly convinced a medical equipment broker in the U.S. to broker sales of these non-existent ventilators, and ultimately deceived the State of New York into wiring more than $30 million for the purchase of ventilators that did not exist.

Meanwhile, he continued to target other potential customers with this same sc@m, including hospitals,”

Conclusion

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