Thursday, 3 July 2014

Nigerian conman 'Fizzy' scammed pensioners out of their life savings with fake lottery

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="549"] Frank Onyeachonam[/caption]



A fraudster nicknamed 'Fizzy' has been jailed for eight years for conning vulnerable pensioners out of their life savings. Frank Onyeachonam ran the UK end of global lottery scam that was orchestrated from his native Nigeria for seven years to fund his lavish millionaire’s lifestyle. It involved hundreds of perpetrators in several countries, detectives say.In the UK, 38-year-old Onyeachonam conned pensioners out of sums from £2,000 to £600,000, deliberately targeting his victims because they were potentially vulnerable to his tactics

Ill-gotten gains: Onyeachonam, of Canning Town, east London, had so much cash he once spelled his name out in it and posted a picture of it on Facebook

While he bled them of their life savings, Onyeachonam enjoyed a life of fast cars, champagne and designer clothes.Pictures he posted on Facebook show he spent the cash on Gucci, Louis Vuitton and Armani designer clothes, Rolex watches, Porsches and Maseratis. Onyeachonam, of Canning Town, east London, was found guilty at the Old Bailey of conspiracy to defraud following a three-week trial.Lawrencia Emenyonu, 38, and Bernard Armah, 51, both of Wood Green, north London, were also found guilty of money laundering. All three denied the charges.Emenyonu was jailed for 18 months while her partner Armah received an eight-month term

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="634"] Bernard Armah and Lawrencia Emenyonu who have been jailed at the Old Bailey, Lonon for their part in a scam by fraudster[/caption]

One of the Rolex watches Onyeachonam spent his ill-gotten gains on

BEST QUALITY AVAILABLE Undated handout photo issued by National Crime Agency of a property in Nigeria belonging to fraudster Frank Onyeachonam who has been jailed for eight years at the Old Bailey, London after he conned vulnerable pensioners out of their life savings with a bogus lottery scam to fund his millionaire's lifestyle. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Issue date: Thursday July 3, 2014. For seven years, Onyeachonam, nicknamed "Fizzy" because of his love of champagne ran the UK operation of a global scam which was orchestrated from his native Nigeria and involved hundreds of perpetrators in several countries, detectives suspect. See PA story COURTS Lottery. Photo credit should read: National Crime Agency /PA Wire NOTE TO EDITORS: This handout photo may only be used in for editorial reporting purposes for the contemporaneous illustration of events, things or the people in the image or facts mentioned in the caption. Reuse of the picture may require further permission from the copyrigh

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="574"] champagne in a fridge belonging to fraudster Frank Onyeachonam who has been jailed for eight years at the Old Bailey, London after he conned vulnerable pensioners out of their life savings with a bogus lottery scam to fund his millionaire's lifestyle[/caption]

He even stuck wads of what look like £50 notes in his Buzz Lightyear toy

National News and Pictures A fraudster nicknamed 'Fizzy' for his love of champagne was today jailed for eight years for conning nearly £2 million out of vulnerable pensioners in a lottery scam to fund his luxury lifestyle, bubbly and fast cars. Frank Onyeachonam, 38, deliberately preyed on the elderly in a lottery scam robbing some of them of their lifesavings. Detectives identified at least 14 victims but believe there may be another 61 and the total lost could be close to £30 million. Onyeachonam then spent the cash on Gucci, Louis Vuitton and Armani designer clothes, Rolex watches, Porches and Maseratis and rented a luxury flat overlooking the Thames in London's Canary Wharf. A regular in members' clubs Onyeachonam would only drink his favourite Ace of Spades champagne costing between £300 and £500 a bottle. Such was his love of the fizzy stuff he also kept a fridge stocked full of it at his apartment and had so much cash he once spelled his name out in it and uplNational News and Pictures A fraudster nicknamed 'Fizzy' for his love of champagne was today jailed for eight years for conning nearly £2 million out of vulnerable pensioners in a lottery scam to fund his luxury lifestyle, bubbly and fast cars. Frank Onyeachonam, 38, deliberately preyed on the elderly in a lottery scam robbing some of them of their lifesavings. Detectives identified at least 14 victims but believe there may be another 61 and the total lost could be close to £30 million. Onyeachonam then spent the cash on Gucci, Louis Vuitton and Armani designer clothes, Rolex watches, Porches and Maseratis and rented a luxury flat overlooking the Thames in London's Canary Wharf. A regular in members' clubs Onyeachonam would only drink his favourite Ace of Spades champagne costing between £300 and £500 a bottle. Such was his love of the fizzy stuff he also kept a fridge stocked full of it at his apartment and had so much cash he once spelled his name out in it and upl

Detectives believe this is the 'tip of the iceberg' with evidence suggesting there may have been as many as 400 victims and the sum may be as high as £30 million

BEST QUALITY AVAILABLE Undated handout photo issued by National Crime Agency of fraudster Frank Onyeachonam, at his London apartment, who has been jailed for eight years at the Old Bailey, London after he conned vulnerable pensioners out of their life savings with a bogus lottery scam to fund his millionaire's lifestyle. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Issue date: Thursday July 3, 2014. For seven years, Onyeachonam, nicknamed "Fizzy" because of his love of champagne ran the UK operation of a global scam which was orchestrated from his native Nigeria and involved hundreds of perpetrators in several countries, detectives suspect. See PA story COURTS Lottery. Photo credit should read: National Crime Agency /PA Wire NOTE TO EDITORS: This handout photo may only be used in for editorial reporting purposes for the contemporaneous illustration of events, things or the people in the image or facts mentioned in the caption. Reuse of the picture may require further permission from the copyright holder.

The ruse - known as an 'advance fee' fraud - saw Onyeachonam send victims emails claiming they had won millions of pounds on a non-existent Australian lottery and requesting a charge to release their winnings.Using the alias Dr Jeff Lloyds, Onyeachonam built up a rapport with his victims and continued extracting money from some for as long as seven years.In order to make the required payments several victims took out high interest loans, forcing them to come out of retirement to repay the debts.Some of those exploited by Onyeachonam suffered the added trauma of falling under suspicion themselves as they were used as 'pawns' in the criminal network to launder the proceeds of the fraud by sending on money from other victims or setting up business accounts.

The prosecution has moved for a confiscation hearing for Onyeachonam

 

 

 
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