A woman and others admitted
they helped run a Nigerian scam that defrauded South Mississippi
residents
and many others through work-at-home and mystery shopper jobs and
re-shipping scams. The victims were targeted through emails, online
advertising, identities stolen, fake credit cards made. The ill-gotten
goods and other illegal proceeds were re-shipped to Nigeria, Ghana,
South Africa, China, UAE, Haiti.
The suspects are: Ann Louise Franzen of Kiln; Gary
Barnard, Shawn Ann White and Michele Gayle Fee, all of Manteca, Calif.;
and Tara Lynn Thomas of Turlock, Calif.
The court records show they each pleaded guilty Tuesday, March 22 to conspiracy to commit offenses against the United States.
They
and three others including a Nigerian, Funso Hassan, 26 and Anthony
Shane Jeffers of Maryville, Tenn, were indicted in an investigation that
revealed scams
that solicited workers in mass emails, paid workers with bogus checks
and money orders and used stolen identities and fake credit cards to
purchase high-dollar items shipped to the workers, who re-shipped them
to other countries.
Chief U.S. District Judge Louis Guirola Jr. has set their sentencing for June 21, 2016. They each face up to five years in prison, three years' probation and a fine of up to $250,000. Franzen, Barnard and Thomas remain free pending sentencing.
Funso Hassan and Jeffers are set for trial April 11, 2016. They face prosecution
on charges to include money laundering and fraud. Hassan remains in
custody.
The seven were charged in a 19-count indictment filed
last July. The crimes included identity theft, theft of government
funds, bank fraud, wire fraud and mail fraud. The investigation
started after Customs and Border Patrol agents began intercepting
packages containing millions of dollars in fake checks and money orders.
A Homeland Security Investigations probe revealed the conspiracy began Aug. 13, 2001 and continued through June 3, 2015. The
scams solicited workers via emails and the Internet. Some workers were
paid to receive and re-ship expensive items, including jewelry, purses,
computers and cellphones. The items were bought with fake credit cards
and stolen identities.
Workers were instructed to deposit checks in their accounts, keep part of it and send the rest to someone else. The
ruse used fraudulent U.S. Postal Service labels and counterfeit money
orders and the wiring of money with the use of fake identifications.
The
indictment said ill-gotten merchandise was shipped to people in Nigeria
and other countries, and actual money changed hands in wire transfers
of as much as $113,000.
HSI agents have said
they seized $3.1
million in bogus money from Franzen's home in 2012. She allegedly
received bogus checks from Nigeria in a package labeled "local soap and
sponge herbs". Smaller
amounts were also from other defendants' homes in 2013.
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