NIGERIAN PHARMACIST HEADS TO JAIL FOR ROBBING THE SYSTEM CALLED MEDICAID

A pharmacist accused of bilking the government of millions in Medicaid dollars through his San Antonio business was given three concurrent 20-year sentences Friday and ordered to pay $2.2 million in restitution.

In a rambling, sometimes incoherent speech to visiting state District Judge Pat Priest before his sentence was announced, Marcelleus Anunobi apologized for his actions and said he had learned his lesson.

“I’ve disgraced myself, I’ve disgraced my family and I’ve disgraced my friends,” he said. “This will be my first mistake and my last mistake.”

Defense attorneys Alex Scharff and Alan Brown asked for probation, noting that it is the only way Anunobi would be able to pay the money back. Prosecutors requested a sentence of 40 to 50 years in prison.

Anunobi could have faced up to life in prison for the first-degree felony Medicaid fraud, theft and money laundering convictions that a jury handed him in July.

In a span of nearly a year from 2007 to 2008, Anunobi stole what amounted to more than $6,000 per day from the Texas Medicaid program, Priest pointed out. Had it not been for investigators stepping in, he would have stolen nearly $10,000 per day, Priest said.

Priest called him “a horrible thief” at one point during the hearing when defense attorneys submitted letters from family members and friends attesting to Anunobi’s good character. “Did he or they bring $2 million to court today? That would be the best evidence of good character that I could see.”

In July, prosecutors Charles Rich and Carolyn Denero described for jurors a scheme in which they said Anunobi would obtain Medicaid numbers for children — including a group of Somali refugees — and continually bill the government for massive amounts of medications that patients neither asked for nor received.

His business, Advanced Doctor’s Prescribed Pharmacy on Medical Drive, appeared to have very little legitimate traffic, prosecutors said.

“When these types of services run out of money, everybody suffers,” Rich argued to the judge Friday. “You can see the greed that quickly took over. This isn’t somebody who’s just taken a dollar here or there.”

Defense attorneys pointed out that Anunobi, an immigrant from Nigeria, already has been punished by having his reputation destroyed. Had it been Walgreens or a large pharmacy in his place, there would only be a question of a fine, not prison time, they suggested.

“My country let him move here and become a citizen,” the judge later responded. “I can’t tell you how I’m offended by him telling me how badly he’s been treated. Poor him, he had to try to steal nearly $10,000 per day.”

Emenike Charles Nwankwoala, age 49, of Laurel, Maryland, pleaded guilty today to exporting arms without a license, exporting controlled goods without a license 

Emenike Charles Nwankwoala, age 49, of Laurel, Maryland, pleaded guilty today to exporting arms without a license, exporting controlled goods without a license and willful delivery of a firearm to a common carrier without written notice, in connection with a scheme to export firearms and ammunition to Nigeria.

The guilty plea was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Special Agent in Charge William Winter of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement; Special Agent in Charge Theresa R. Stoop of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives – Baltimore Field Division; Commissioner Alan Bersin of U.S. Customs and Border Protection; and Special Agent in Charge Rick Shimon of the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Washington Office of Export Enforcement.

“Emenike Charles Nwankwoala illegally shipped guns and ammunition to Nigeria for a decade, concealing the weapons in shipping containers and lying about the contents and destination,” said U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein.

“By stopping the illegal export of weapons from the United States, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) is keeping weapons from falling into the hands of criminals,” said William Winter, Special Agent in Charge for ICE in Baltimore. “ICE is committed to working with our law enforcement partners to identify, investigate, and prosecute individuals or companies who engage in illegal export schemes.”

“We are pleased to have worked with our law enforcement partners to stem the illegal flow of firearms,” says ATF Special Agent in Charge Theresa R. Stoop. “Firearms trafficking remains a serious crime, whether guns are moved from state to state, or across international lines. This investigation is proof that combined efforts impact firearms-related crime, no matter how far-reaching the crimes go.”

“This case highlights the tenacious, coordinated effort of federal law enforcement to intercept this cache of weapons and ultimately gain a conviction in this case,” said Rick Shimon, Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Department of Commerce’s Washington Office of Export Enforcement. This is an especially egregious crime given that a criminal justice official entrusted with upholding the law smuggled weapons out of the country.”

According to Nwankwoala’s plea agreement, he was employed by the State of Maryland as a Probation Officer. Investigation showed that during a six-month period beginning in December 2008, Nwankwoala purchased at least 37 Maverick Model 88 shotguns from a Federal Firearms Licensee located in Kensington, Maryland.

On April 21, 2009, Nwankwoala ordered an additional 25 shotguns over the internet from Impact Guns in Ogden, Utah, a Federal Firearms Licensee. Nwankwoala stated that he was purchasing these shotguns for hunting in Nigeria. The licensee asked Nwankwoala if he had an export license, and Nwankwoala falsely indicated that he did. Nwankwoala never obtained guns through this gun store.

On May 13, 2009, Nwankwoala told an undercover agent from Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”) that for approximately ten years he has purchased shotguns and shipped them to Nigeria in shipping containers with vehicles and hospital beds. Nwankwoala further stated that he made a large profit from these arms shipments and that he knew that he needed a license to engage in this activity but had not obtained one because he could not identify the end user as required by the United States Department of Commerce.

In July or August 2009, Nwankwoala prepared a shipping container with 22 Maverick 88 shotguns, two Mossberg 500A shotguns, two Smith & Wesson M&P .45 caliber pistols, two Bersa Thunder .40 caliber pistols, one Bersa Thunder 9 mm pistol, one Ruger SR 9 mm pistol, 850 rounds of 9mm ammunition, 150 rounds of 40mm ammunition, 180 rounds of 45mm ammunition, and 310 12 gauge shotgun rounds, secreted in suitcases, as well as a 2008 Toyota Camry, registered to Nwankwoala.

Nwankwoala completed the Shipper’s Export Declaration (“SED”) for this container which listed the address of the exporter’s principal party in interest as Nwankwoala’s home address; but listed as the principal party an individual other than himself; and indicated that the container’s contents were “used household goods and personal effects” and “used auto.” The SED did not state that firearms or ammunition were or would be in the container. Nwankwoala, using a freight forwarding agent located in Baltimore, Maryland, had the container delivered to a ship in Port Elizabeth, in Newark, New Jersey, for shipment to Nigeria. The package was to be shipped to a person who was not licensed as a firearms dealer, manufacturer, or importer.

On August 21, 2009, the ship left from Port Elizabeth carrying the container prepared by Nwankwoala. The container arrived in Nigeria on September 15, 2009, but was not unloaded based upon a request from law enforcement to have the container returned for inspection. On October 6, 2009, the container was inspected in Algeciras, Spain by agents from Spanish Customs, United States Customs and Border Protection, and ICE and the firearms, ammunition and automobile were recovered. A review of the serial numbers of the weapons seized revealed that five of the pistols and twelve of the Maverick 88 shotguns were purchased by Nwankwoala.

Eight other shipments have been made to Nigeria based upon SEDs listing Nwankwoala’s home address, from August 2006 through August 2009. The shipments are described as containing used vehicles and personal household goods.

The two Smith & Wesson M&P .45 caliber pistols, two Bersa Thunder .40 caliber pistols, one Bersa Thunder 9 mm pistol, and one Ruger SR 9 mm pistol, as well as all the ammunition found on the container are controlled under the United States Munitions List and require a license for export. The Maverick 88 and Mossberg 500A shotguns are controlled under the Commerce Control List for export to Nigeria and also require a license for export.

In February 2008, Nwankwoala applied for and was granted a license from the Department of Commerce to export one Mossberg 12 gauge shotgun to Nigeria for personal use. In February 2009, Nwankwoala applied for an export license from the Department of Commerce to export to Nigeria 45 Mossberg 500 and Maverick 88 shotguns.

On this application, Nwankwoala stated that these weapons were to be used in the operation of a newly-opened range in Nigeria. When Nwankwoala was unable to provide further documentation or evidence of this newly-opened range, the Department of Commerce denied the license. Nwankwoala did not possess the necessary licenses or authorizations from the United States Department of State or the Department of Commerce to export the above-listed firearms and ammunition to Nigeria, nor does he possess a Federal Firearms License to engage in the business of dealing in firearms.

Nwankwoala faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison for exporting arms without a license; 20 years in prison for exporting controlled goods without a license; and five years in prison for willful delivery of a firearm to a common carrier without written notice.

Jim Kouri, CPP is currently fifth vice-president of the National Association of Chiefs of Police and he’s a columnist for The Examiner (examiner.com) and New Media Alliance (thenma.org). In addition, he’s a blogger for the Cheyenne, Wyoming Fox News Radio affiliate KGAB (www.kgab.com). Kouri also serves as political advisor for Emmy and Golden Globe winning actor Michael Moriarty.

He’s former chief at a New York City housing project in Washington Heights nicknamed “Crack City” by reporters covering the drug war in the 1980s. In addition, he served as director of public safety at a New Jersey university and director of security for several major organizations. He’s also served on the National Drug Task Force and trained police and security officers throughout the country. Kouri writes for many police and security magazines including Chief of Police, Police Times, The Narc Officer and others. He’s a news writer and columnist for AmericanDaily.Com, MensNewsDaily.Com, MichNews.Com, and he’s syndicated by AXcessNews.Com. Kouri appears regularly as on-air commentator for over 100 TV and radio news and talk shows including Fox News Channel, Oprah, McLaughlin Report, CNN Headline News, MTV, etc

NIGERIA DRUG COURIER DELIVERS HEROINE WORTH $125,000 THROUGH THE REAR AT DETROIT AIRPORT

 BREAKING NEWS,CRIME WATCH,HEADLINE NEWS

A suspected drug mule arrested Sunday at Detroit Metropolitan Airport says she was paid $6,000 to transport dozens of packages of heroin to the U.S. from her home country of Nigeria. In her stomach. And it wasn’t the first time.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers detained 32-year-old Sherifat Lamidi after she arrived on a Lufthansa Airlines flight from Frankfurt, Germany. During an interview, she admitted she was paid to swallow and transport drugs to the states, but she wasn’t sure what drug or how much she had consumed.

Turns out, she swallowed 91 pellets of heroin with an estimated street value of $125,000.  You can see the thumb-sized packages, which weigh a combined 1.12 kilograms, in the photo above. That’s a whole lot of heroin sausages.

The Detroit Free Press, which obtained an federal agent’s affidavit, reports Lamidi admitted Sunday’s drug run wasn’t her first. She said she previously was paid $4,500 to travel to Chicago with 50 heroin pellets.  This time around, she was paid more to swallow more and told to wait at the airport until someone picked her up.

Afer her confession, authorities transported Lamidi to Heritage Hospital in Taylor, where she began “passing pellets” before staff could complete X-rays. The CBP says she “finalized the expulsion” of the pellets under medical supervision. We don’t really want to know what that means.

“Our officers are committed to the CBP mission of securing the nations borders,” Port Director Donald Conroy said in a released statement. “It is through the efforts of dedicated CBP officers that we were able to stop these drugs from reaching the streets.”

Lamidi’s case has been turned over the U.S. Attorney’s office for prosecution. If she’s convicted, the public likely will be denied the opportunity to see her battle Kobayashi in a non-heroin sausage eating contest. What a waste of talent. 

Texas couple Mr  & Mrs Nnaji have  been sentenced to jail after holding a widowed Nigerian mother of six as a slave for more than eight years.

 UNDER: CRIME WATCH,DALLAS

An Arlington, Texas couple has been sentenced to jail after holding a widowed Nigerian mother of six as a slave for more than eight years.

Prosecutors said the victim, whose name has been withheld, had been recruited by Emmanuel and Ngozi Ihechere Nnaji in her native Nigeria with promises that she would receive a salary along with room and board in exchange for working as a nanny to the couple’s own children.

Instead, the victim, who is unable to read or write, was forced to work 16 hours daily with no days off for nearly nine years. The couple didn’t pay her, confiscated her travel documents, monitored all calls to her family in Nigeria and did not support her family as promised. In exchange, she received an estimated $300 for her work.

According to reports, the woman also testified that 50-year-old Emmanuel, a naturalized U.S. citizen of Nigerian descent, repeatedly sexually assaulted her.

Emmanuel was sentenced to 20 years in prison, while his wife Ngozi, 40, a Nigerian citizen, was sentenced to nine years. In addition, both defendants were ordered to pay $305,957.60 in restitution.

“The involuntary servitude and mistreatment that this victim endured is intolerable in a nation founded on freedom and individual rights,” Assistant Attorney General Thomas Perez said in a statement before going on to condemn the situation as an example of “modern-day slavery.”

HOUSTON – John Edward Perry III, 47, of The Woodlands, and Kate Ose Olear, 43, a Nigerian national residing in Houston, pleaded guilty conspiracy to commit health care fraud, U.S. Attorney José Angel Moreno announced Friday.

HOUSTON – John Edward Perry III, 47, of The Woodlands, and Kate Ose Olear, 43, a Nigerian national residing in Houston, pleaded guilty conspiracy to commit health care fraud, U.S. Attorney José Angel Moreno announced Friday.

Olear, the owner of Sefan Medical Supply (Sefan), a durable medical equipment provider in Houston, and Perry, the medical director of Sefan, were scheduled to begin a jury trial Monday. Instead, they decided to plead guilty. Olear pleaded guilty Thursday before U.S. District Judge David Hittner, while Perry pleaded guilty Friday morning before U.S. District Court Judge Gray H. Miller. Olear was ordered into federal custody immediately after the hearing pending sentencing Sept. 15. Perry has been permitted to remain on bond pending his sentencing Sept. 17. Each faces a maximum of 10 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000 or twice the financial gain or loss (whichever is greater) and up to three years supervised release for the health care fraud conspiracy conviction. Restitution is mandatory in both cases.

According to court documents, the scheme orchestrated involved Sefan, through Olear, billing Medicare for medically unnecessary durable medical equipment and supplies that were either not provided to Medicare beneficiaries or a lesser product from what was billed to Medicare was provided. Olear billed Medicare for arthritis kits for more than 683 beneficiaries – some of whom were deceased. Perry in many instances was the physician who authorized the arthritis kits. All the kits included a knee adjustment with air chamber, rigid frame back brace, elbow with joint, ankle gauntlet, flex glove with elastic finger, heat lamp with stand and a wrist brace. Sefan would order these items for both the left and right side. If the beneficiaries received the items, they did not receive the rigid brace items billed to Medicare, instead they would receive neoprene sleeves, which was not covered by Medicare. Additionally, none of the beneficiaries interviewed knew of Sefan, Olear or Perry. Between December 2005 and July 2009, Olear submitted more than $2.8 million worth of claims for the arthritis kits and was paid more than $1.7 million for those claims.

The investigation into Olear and Perry is part of the Medicare Fraud Strike Force and was the result of a joint investigation by agents of the Department of Health and Human Services, Drug Enforcement Administration Diversion Division, Texas Attorney General Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, United States Railroad Retirement Board and the FBI. Assistant United States Jennifer Lowery and Special Assistant United States Attorney Justin Blan prosecuted the case.

Nigerian native Abel Oderanti was found guilty of luring, attempted sexual assault and attempted child 12 YEARS OLD

 UNDER: CRIME WATCH,HEADLINE NEWS

A Newark man was convicted Thursday of attempting to have sex with what he thought was a 12-year-old girl he lured on the Internet and who he drove to meet at a Woodland Park store parking lot on Route 46.

Nigerian native Abel Oderanti reacts as he learns a jury found him guilty.

Nigerian native Abel Oderanti was found guilty of luring, attempted sexual assault and attempted child endangerment by a jury seated before state Superior Court Judge Joseph A. Falcone in Paterson. He is scheduled to be sentenced Nov. 12, when he will face as much as 30 years in state prison.

Oderanti hung his head, looking despondent following the verdict’s reading. The defendant, who was free on bail, was remanded by Judge Falcone to the Passaic County Jail pending sentencing. Family members wailed in despair as sheriff’s officers led him out of the courtroom.

The jury did exonerate Oderanti on one count of attempted aggravated sexual assault. While it is not entirely clear what the jury’s rationale was, that count required proof of planned sexual penetration. The attempted sexual assault count that the panel convicted him of required only proof of planned sexual contact of some sort.

While instant message and phone conversations captured by undercover investigators and presented at trial indicated that Oderanti was looking for some sort of sexual liaison, penetration, per se, was never specifically spelled out.

Prosecutors gathered as evidence 16 Instant Message conversations and one recorded phone conversation Oderanti had with an undercover detective posing as a 12-year-old girl in which he expresses interest in having sex with the child. Those discussions were read to and played for the jury, including the undercover detective telling Oderanti she was 12 and a virgin.

The defendant was arrested , in the parking lot of a store on Route 46 in Woodland Park, where he had arranged to meet the “girl.”

Oderanti, 30, testified in his defense. He told jurors under questioning by defense attorney Howard Jacobs of New York City he thought the chat room he was in was strictly for adults and that he assumed the “12-year-old” was actually over 18. He also said someone else had access to his computer, and that he would occasionally leave his desk while in the chat room.

The defense has argued that Oderanti had a limited sexual and romantic history upon coming to the U.S. from Nigeria in 2006 and that he was “naive” and “socially immature” when he went looking for friendship on the web.

The defendant had two condoms on him when he was arrested. Police say he admitted to wanting to have sex with the girl but said he thought she was a more “mature woman.”

Paul De Groot, Passaic County senior assistant prosecutor, argued that Odernati’s assertion that the girl was an adult pretending to be a minor still didn’t quite jibe with the transcripts from Instant Message conversations — and a taped phone conversation — he had with the undercover detective posing as a 12-year-old girl.

The prosecutor read and played the conversations to the jury, during which the defendant allegedly said things such as: “So what kind of friendship do you want, if you’re underage?” and “You’re so young. That means you’re a virgin? You’ve never had sex with a guy before?”

A Nigerian man accused of masterminding one of the largest high-tech bank robberies in U.S. history

Enlarge Cass County, N.D./AP Adekunle Adetiloye was sentenced Jan. 23, 2012, for his role in what authorities call one of the largest credit card fraud schemes in U.S. histor Adekunle Adetiloye Sentenced To 17.8 Years In Prison For Credit Fraud

- A Nigerian man accused of masterminding one of the largest high-tech bank robberies in U.S. history was sentenced to nearly 18 years in prison Monday following a years-long investigation into fake debt collection agencies that prosecutors say stole the identities of about 38,000 people. Adekunle Adetiloye was accused of organizing a scheme to open nearly 600 fraudulent bank accounts and bilk 22 major banks, potentially costing credit card firms and banks up to $5 million. Assistant U.S. Attorney Nick Chase in North Dakota, where the case was handled, said the 40-year-old had an "insatiable hunger for other people's money." Defense attorneys had argued that their client, the only person charged in the case, was a "marginal and minimal participant" whose role was to handle mail and withdraw money from ATMs. But prosecutors and the judge believed he was central to the scheme. Investigators said Adetiloye incorporated two different companies in Delaware - Syspac Financial Services and Commet Consultant Inc. - that claimed to be debt collection companies. He gained access to commercial data providers, including large-scale outfits LexisNexis and ChoicePoint that only allow access to law enforcement, financial services and debt collection companies. With access to those data providers, Adetiloye and others obtained the personal identification information to about 38,000 people, most of whom were medical professionals, and used that information to open credit card, debit and checking accounts, prosecutors said. Those data providers said it was only the second such breach of that scale. "Characterizing this fraud scheme as massive, if anything, is an understatement," Chase said in court documents. Investigators' interest in Adetiloye, a native of Nigeria, was piqued after figuring out he was unemployed and receiving welfare yet living lavishly, complete with a Range Rover vehicle, extended trips to England and an expensive condominium. Then there were two credit cards tucked away in his wallet the each bore different names - Donald Douglas and Vincent Andriole - that seemed to confirm suspicions that he was up to something nefarious. The complexity of the scheme - which took five years to investigate and litigate - was highlighted in a sentencing phase that has lasted nearly a year and included numerous hearings and briefings, and some 12,000 pages of court documents. The case wound up in North Dakota after U.S. Bank's customer service center in Fargo intercepted calls by Adetiloye and others. U.S. District Judge Ralph Erickson handed down a 214-month prison term and scheduled a Feb. 15 hearing to discuss returning nearly $1.5 million in losses to credit card companies and banks. The judge has said losses may have been as much as $5 million. Defense attorney Richard Henderson had asked for a sentence of fewer than 16 years for his client, who pleaded guilty to mail fraud charges. Henderson said any prison time is more difficult than it would be for American citizens because he has no family in the United States. No decision has been made about whether he plans to appeal, said Neil Fulton, lead federal public defender for North Dakota and South Dakota. "The sentence imposed today should send a strong message to those who would seek to scam the citizens and businesses of North Dakota and the United States," U.S. Attorney Timothy Purdon said in a statement released Monday. "We take the growing problem of foreign financial fraud seriously here and seeking justice for the victims of such crimes is a priority for our office." Greg Krier, lead credit card fraud investigator for U.S. Bank, testified during the sentencing phase of the case that it was the most complex case he had ever seen. His company, which has its own fraud unit, launched special training sessions focusing on the case in hopes of catching the culprits. The lead investigator, one of 25 people who worked on the case, put in 2,000 hours, authorities said. Investigators initially said the operation accessed information of nearly 16,000 people, about 500 of whom had their identities stolen for the purpose of obtaining credit cards. It's alleged that more than 100 commercial mailboxes were opened under false or stolen identities. But further investigation showed that the scheme actually accessed personal information to some 38,000 people. The government said Adetiloye went so far as to mask his handwriting after a judge ordered a test of his calligraphy. Erickson, the federal judge, said in court documents ahead of the sentencing that the evidence "indisputably demonstrates" that Adetiloye was a leader or organizer of the scheme. The judge calculated losses to banks at about $1.5 million, but said it could have been as high as $5 million if credit limits had been maxed out. The trauma cannot be measured, Erickson said. "The non-monetary harm to the victims was substantial," the judge wrote. "They lost sleep, they lost time with their families, they lost time at work, and they lost their sense of security. Some victims spent hours trying to reclaim their credit record and their identities." Court documents show that U.S. Bank suffered the most number of tainted accounts, at 130, for a total loss of about $76,000. The companies alleged to have lost the most money were Citibank, at about $271,000, and Discover, at about $248,000. Brett Bogan, the security investigations manager at Reed Elsevier, the parent company of LexisNexis and ChoicePoint, told the court that data breaches of this type are extremely rare and knew of only one other case like it. He said the company sent out notices to more than 32,000 people whose personal information was compromised by the scheme. "With their combined extensive and nationwide perspective, those entities place this fraud scheme at or near the top of their historical lists in terms of size and complexity," Chase said in court documents. http://www.kctv5.com/story/16577642/canadian-man-faces-up-to-22-years-for-credit-fraud?clienttype=printable