In March 2016, two Nigerian men living in Los Angeles using the name Terry Garcia, reached out to a Japanese woman (referred to in court documents as FK) on an international digital pen pal site. The scam artists' fictitious character--Terry Garcia--claimed to be a U.S. Army captain stationed in Syria. The e-mails became personal and FK believed she had found a soul mate.
In the course of their online correspondence, Captain Garcia confided in FK that he had found a bag of diamonds in Syria and needed her help in smuggling the diamonds out of the war-torn nation. He claimed he had been injured and couldn't do it himself.
Having secured FK's willingness to help smuggle the diamonds, the con man introduced her to a pair of associates who said they would help her with the clandestine project. The first so-called associate held himself out as a Red Cross diplomat who could arranged the shipment. The second swindler brought into the scam posed as an employee of the shipping company. But here was the catch--the shipping clerk needed bribe money to make sure the package containing the diamonds wouldn't be searched by customs officials.
After FK fell for the scam and sent the money, she was hooked. Over the next two months she made fifty more payments, a total of $200,000. She borrowed the money from friends, her ex-husband, and relatives who were happy for her and wanted to help her maintain her romantic relationship with Terry Garcia.
As it turned out, FK was a small piece of a sprawling international confidence game. In August 2019, United States Attorneys across the country charged 80 Nigerians with conspiracy to defraud hundreds of women out of $6 million. Seventeen of the subjects were living in the United States and were taken into custody by FBI agents. The arrests included the two Los Angeles Nigerians who had scammed FK out of $200,000.
According to the Special Agent in Charge of the Los Angeles division, the Nigerian Diamond scam artists, in 2018 alone, had swindled 21,000 victims out of $142 million. More arrests would follow.
In the course of their online correspondence, Captain Garcia confided in FK that he had found a bag of diamonds in Syria and needed her help in smuggling the diamonds out of the war-torn nation. He claimed he had been injured and couldn't do it himself.
Having secured FK's willingness to help smuggle the diamonds, the con man introduced her to a pair of associates who said they would help her with the clandestine project. The first so-called associate held himself out as a Red Cross diplomat who could arranged the shipment. The second swindler brought into the scam posed as an employee of the shipping company. But here was the catch--the shipping clerk needed bribe money to make sure the package containing the diamonds wouldn't be searched by customs officials.
After FK fell for the scam and sent the money, she was hooked. Over the next two months she made fifty more payments, a total of $200,000. She borrowed the money from friends, her ex-husband, and relatives who were happy for her and wanted to help her maintain her romantic relationship with Terry Garcia.
As it turned out, FK was a small piece of a sprawling international confidence game. In August 2019, United States Attorneys across the country charged 80 Nigerians with conspiracy to defraud hundreds of women out of $6 million. Seventeen of the subjects were living in the United States and were taken into custody by FBI agents. The arrests included the two Los Angeles Nigerians who had scammed FK out of $200,000.
According to the Special Agent in Charge of the Los Angeles division, the Nigerian Diamond scam artists, in 2018 alone, had swindled 21,000 victims out of $142 million. More arrests would follow.
ReplyDeleteFascinating!