Skip to main content

Nigerian man arrested in Australia over $400k scam

A Nigerian man living in Queensland, Australia has been arrested and charged after allegedly posing as a United States soldier online and forming a romantic relationship with a 34-year-old woman who sent him $370,000 all in the name of love.

 Cosmos Emeh, 32, appeared in the Brisbane Magistrates Court on Friday, where it was revealed he had also been accused of trying to get the victim to send him a further $170,000 before officers swooped and arrested him at his Durack home on Thursday.
Mr Emeh, who is in Australia on a student visa, allegedly received the money over the course of three months from the 34-year-old Brisbane woman, who later contacted police and sparked the investigation.
Romance Scam: Australia Police arrest Nigerian man who posed as US soldier and allegedly scammed woman out of $370,000 (photos)
According to his defence lawyer, the accused has been in Australia for two years, has no criminal history, is studying a certificate of urban and environmental planning at Griffith University and already holds a bachelor degree.
He had rented a Durack home with his partner, a permanent citizen, since entering the country.
According to his defence lawyer, Mr Emeh claimed the SIM card he was found with, allegedly associated with the phone number used to ask the victim for money, had only been in his possession since Thursday after it was sent to him.
The court heard Mr Emeh denied knowing the victim prior to Thursday, having any contact with her on the internet, being the instigator of the relationship or knowing he was involved in a scam.
However, Mr Emeh conceded that he may look suspicious in the circumstances, his lawyer said.
Police will allege the woman became involved with Mr Emeh on a social media platform in October 2018 while he was claiming to be a US soldier in Syria.
“Over the course of the following months, the victim was groomed into believing the stories provided by the criminal and formed an online romantic relationship,” a police spokesman said, before the man faced court.
“The victim sent over $200,000 to the ‘US soldier’ via a series of transfers through a money transfer service.”
Prior to his court appearance, police issued a public warning after uncovering a “disturbing element” within the alleged scam. They claimed the accused – acting as an agent for the soldier he was allegedly impersonating – travelled to the victim’s home to collect another $105,000.
In court, prosecutors alleged Mr Emeh had received a total of $370,000 from the victim.
Detective Superintendent Terry Lawrence of the state crime command’s financial and cyber crime group said the alleged scam was common worldwide.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Theresa May to Resign as UK PM June 7: “I have done everything I can”

Britain’s Prime Minister  Theresa May  has said she’ll step down from her position and as U.K. Conservative Party leader on June 7. She said this on Friday at a press conference in front of 10 Downing Street. May said she’s resigning after she’s tried, three times, to make Brexit a reality. “Ever since I first stepped through the door behind me as prime minister I have striven to make the United Kingdom a country that works not just for the privileged few but for everyone, and to honor the result of the referendum,” May said. She added: “I have done everything I can to convince MPs to back this deal. Sadly, I have not been able — I tried three times.” “I believe it was right to persevere….it is now clear to me that it is in the best interest of the country for a new PM to lead that effort,” May said. May held back tears throughout the speech and was visibly tearful as she concluded her speech.
Post a Comment
Read more

President Buhari's ADC Profile: Mohammed Lawal, ML Abubakar Biography & Life History

Behind every successful man, they say, is a woman. Behind every successful president, we can say, is his aide-de-camp (ADC). Mohammed Abubakar, an army colonel, is the man behind President Muhammadu Buhari. One of those men whose words we don’t hear, but who emits golden silence. Abubakar was born on March 28, 1973, in Zaria, Kaduna state, to inter-ethnic parents from Edo and Kano states. HEAD BOY LIKE BUHARI Abubakar attended Nigerian Military School (NMS) Zaria from 1985–1990. Perhaps, as part of the workings of fate, Abubakar served as the head boy known as “Boy Regimental Sergeant Major” of his set, a position manned by Buhari decades back. ‘INTELLIGENT TO THE HIGHEST ORDER’ After his appointment as ADC in 2015, Nigerians took to social media to congratulate him. Some recognised him as their camp commandant during their National Youths Service Corps (NYSC). Bashir Ahmad, a Facebook user, who identified him as his camp commandant in 2006 in Kogi, describe...
1 comment
Read more

Thailand sends overweight policemen to fat reduction camp (Photos)

Overweight Police officers in Thailand are currently undergoing a weight-loss training at a camp as part of a nation-wide program aptly called “Belly Destruction”.   After the success of a two-week pilot program, police stations in Thailand have begun sending their fattest officers to the Central Police Training Center in the city of Pak Chong, to take part in an intense physical activity designed to adjust the size of their bellies. Each station will periodically send two to three overweight policemen to the centre, where they will work out, ride bicycles and adopt a healthy, protein-rich diet to shed as much extra weight as possible. The Belly Destruction program started gaining attention after photos of overweight police officers taking part in the daily exercise routine went viral online. “There are so many problems if you’re a fat cop,” Senior Sgt. Maj. Sornpetch Chantarak, a dietary enforcer in the new program, said. “You work slow and move slow as you go tum...
Post a Comment
Read more