A former husband and wife who played key roles in a devilish scam network which siphoned close to $1.5 million from lawyers, travel agencies and computer software companies across the country have fronted court to answer to their fraudulent crimes.
Nigerian national played a lead role from inside Villawood Detention Centre, recruiting ‘money mules’ such as his wife, 37, to collect the tainted cash generated through fraud.
He would communicate with unknown international actors who would ‘compromise’ an email account, access legitimate invoices and redirect the payment to a syndicate-controlled bank account. The ‘money mules’ would then withdraw the cash from ATMs and often send the proceeds overseas.
One of the 11 frauds Oluwafemi confessed to dealing with the criminal proceeds of saw a hoodwinked woman create a bank account following an online relationship. A 7/11 Melbourne-based franchise was then hacked with its annual rent of $464,000 redirected into the woman’s bank account. After this payment, $115,000 was transferred to a seperate bank account and then directed to Nigeria.
The woman said she was forced to take part in the fraud syndicate.
The woman who had lived with her husband in Lurnea, testified in Campbelltown District Court the marriage was tarnished with domestic violence and she took part in the criminal syndicate “under duress”.
The 37-year-old confessed to dealing with $292,000, knowing it was the proceeds of crime and using some of the cash to purchase a Land Rover Vogue.
She told Judge David Arnott she withdrew tens of thousands of dollars from her personal bank accounts in early 2017 under the illusion the money was legitimate, as the man had told her it was generated by selling cars.
The single mother also told the court she was sorry for her actions.
She avoided gaol and was sentenced to an Intensive Corrections Order.
