DOJ: Nigerian Scammed Citibank Out of $27 Million

Hey, it's a twist on the Nigerian scam! The U.S. Department of Justice said that a Nigerian national apparently successfully convinced Citibank to transfer money—over $27 million— from the National Bank of Ethiopia into accounts controlled by him and his associates. Luckily, the many of receiving accounts were unable to accept the transfers and the banks alerted Citibank.

According to the NY Times, "the scheme began in September, when Citibank received a package with documents purportedly signed by officials of the Ethiopian bank instructing Citibank to accept instructions by fax. There was also a list of officials who could be called to confirm such requests. The signatures of the officials appeared to match those in Citibank’s records and were accepted by Citibank." Once Citibank received the faxed instructions for money to be wired, the bank called the "officials," whose phone "numbers turned out to be for cellphones in Nigeria, South Africa and Britain used by the conspirators." Of course.

Paul Gabriel Amos was arrested and indicted for attempting to "take over" the NBE's account. Amos, who had been living in Singapore but was caught when arriving in Los Angeles last month, is reportedly in plea negotiations. Citibank told the Times, "We have worked closely with law enforcement throughout the investigation and are pleased it has resulted in this arrest. Citi constantly reviews and upgrades its physical, electronic and procedural safeguards to detect, prevent and mitigate theft.”

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Jen Chung in News on February 21, 2009 1:52 PM

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williambanzai7

TEL: 1-800-GET CASH

FAX: 1-800-JOHNNY CASH

TO CITIGROUP G.B. (Good Bank)

ATTENTION: VIKRAM PANDIT CEO

DEAR SIR,

CONFIDENTIAL BUSINESS PROPOSAL

HAVING CONSULTED WITH MY COLLEAGUES, AND BASED ON THE INFORMATION GATHERED FROM THE CENTRAL BANK OF ETHIOPIA ACTING AS A CORRESPONDENT BANK FOR THE UNITED STATES FEDERAL RESERVE BANK, I HAVE THE PRIVILEGE TO REQUEST FOR YOUR ASSISTANCE TO TRANSFER THE SUM OF TWENTY SEVEN MILLION, UNITED STATES DOLLARS ($27 M U.S. DOLLARS) INTO YOUR BANKS RESERVE ACCOUNTS.

THE ABOVE SUM RESULTED FROM A T.A.R.P. CASH INJECTION TO BE FUNDED INDIRECTLY BY MEANS OF AN INTERBANK LOAN MISDISBURSED FIVE MONTHS (5 MTHS)AGO BY ANOTHER US BANK. THIS ACTION WAS HOWEVER INTENTIONAL, AND SINCE THEN THE FUNDS HAVE BEEN IN A SUSPENSE ACCOUNT AT THE CENTRAL BANK OF NIGERIA - OUR APEX BANK. WE ARE NOW READY TO TRANSFER THE FUNDS TO YOU, AND THAT IS WHY WE REQUIRE YOUR ASSISTANCE. THE TOTAL SUM WILL BE SHARED AS FOLLOWS:- 80% FOR US, 15% FOR YOU AND 5% FOR LOCAL AND INTERNATIONAL EXPENSES INCIDENTAL TO THE TRANSFER.

THE TRANSACTION IS RISK FREE ON BOTH SIDES. I AM AN ACCOUNTANT WITH THE NIGERIAN NATIONAL SECURITIZATION CORPORATION (N.N.S.C). IF YOU FIND THIS PROPOSAL ACCEPTABLE, WE SHALL REQUIRE THE FOLLOWING DOCUMENTS:

(A) YOUR BANK'S SWIFT CODE, ACCOUNT, AND FAX NUMBERS.

(B) YOUR PRIVATE TELEPHONE AND FAX NUMBERS - FOR CONFIDENTIALITY AND EASY COMMUNICATION.

(C) YOUR LETTER HEADED PAPER AND PRO-FORMA BANK ADVISES STAMPED AND SIGNED BY YOU.

ALTERNATIVELY, WE WILL FURNISH YOU WITH THE TEXT OF WHAT TO TYPE INTO YOUR LETTER HEADED PAPER AND PROFORMA LETTER OF INSTRUCTION, ALONG WITH A BREAK DOWN. EXPLAINING COMPREHENSIVELY WHAT WE REQUIRE OF YOU. THE BUSINESS WILL TAKE US 30 WORKING DAYS TO ACCOMPLISH. FOR SECURITY REASONS, DO NOT HOOK UP TO AT&T (AMERICAN TELEPHONE & TELEGRAPH) NUMBER UNTIL YOU GET THROUGH.

PLEASE REPLY URGENTLY.

BEST REGARDS,

DR. PAUL GABRIEL GREENSPAN

Past Taliban

Alternative Headlines:

"SCAMMERS SCAM SCAMMERS"

"DON'T STEAL!; OUR GOVERNMENT HATES COMPETITION"

blablanyc

I bet the people I know at Citi were the ones that did it. Dumb asses.

Mr Mel

The first time I ran into the Nigerian con was about 20 years ago, way before the internet flood. An associate of mine received a letter from someone in Nigeria, on very official looking Nigerian Army Stationery, the sender was looking to buy army uniforms and needed a supplier in the states. My partner stated doing the ground work and had lined up a couple of garmentos that seemed interested as well. I was suspicious and called a friend of mine, a Liberian Diplomat, and told him the story. He advised me to forget about it, he knew it was a scam. He asked, if in the letter, we were asked for funds. That was when I really read the letter and that was the end of that.

Gentrifier

Funny. The whole Nigerian scam thing is like a big joke here on the Internet. Hell, probably eighty percent of you out there reading this comment have a 419 letter in your spam folder. And we never fall for it. But somehow these captains of industry, these Masters of the Universe, got played out like the proverbial booger.

Spirit of 76

Sounds like you didn't bother to read the Times article. This has almost nothing to do with Nigeria and your beloved Nigerian scam, other than the main conspirator being originally from that country and some of the cell phones being in Nigeria. The banks they were transferring money to were in several countries including the US, but not Nigeria.

What exactly would you have done if you're so smart? Citibank got the package. The signatures appeared to match their records. They called the listed phone numbers to confirm. Did you want them to book airline tickets to go to Ethiopia to confirm that everything was in order? Yes, they were a little careless, but the innate smugness and arrogance of some Gothamist commenters never fails to amaze me.

moonbeam

What exactly would you have done if you're so smart? Citibank got the package. The signatures appeared to match their records. They called the listed phone numbers to confirm.

I can answer that. The big mistake made by the clerks at Citi: they confirmed the wires by calling the cell phone numbers listed on the fraudulent wire requests rather than using the contact information on file on the bank accounts from which the money was being transferred.

gimme

damn, those dudes in nigeria are good!

chris

accounts controlled from by him and his associates. Luckily, the many of receiving accounts' banks were unable to accept to the transfers and alerted Citibank

rough night?