The Cape Town Zone Black Axe Prosecutions

United States vs. Perry Osagiede et.al.,  

Criminal No. 21-392 (MAS)

Defendants:

• Perry Osagiede, a/k/a “Lord Sutan Abubakar de 1st,” a/k/a “Rob Nicolella,” a/k/a “Alan Salomon,” 
• Enorense Izevbigie, a/k/a “Richy Izevbigie,” a/k/a “Lord Samuel S Nujoma,”
• Franklyn Edosa Osagiede, a/k/a, “Lord Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela,” a/k/a, “Edosa Franklyn Osagiede,” a/k/a “Dave Hewitt,” a/k/a, “Bruce Dupont,”
• Osariemen Eric Clement, a/k/a, “Lord Adekunle Ajasi,” a/k/a, “Aiden Wilson,”
• Egbe Tony Iyamu, a/k/a, “Lord Aminu Kano,” a/k/a, “Richard Amall,”
• Collins Owhofasa Otughwor, a/k/a, “Lord Jesse Makoko,” a/k/a, “Philip Coughlan,”
• Musa Mudashiru, a/k/a “Lord Oba Akenzua,”

United States vs. Toritseju Gabriel Otubu

Magistrate No. 21-15196

Criminal No. 21-735 (MAS)

Defendant:  Toritseju Gabriel Otubu, a/k/a “Andy Richards,” a/k/a “Ann Petersen”

Case Summaries:

The defendants are all charged with wire fraud conspiracy in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1349 and money laundering conspiracy in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1956(h).  Defendants Perry Osagiede, Franklyn Osagiede, Clement, Izevbigie, Iyamu, and Otubu are also charged with wire fraud in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1343.  Defendants Perry Osagiede, Franklyn Osagiede, Iyamu, Otughwor, and Otubu are also charged with aggravated identity theft in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1028A.   

The charges stem from romance scams, advance-fee schemes, and business email compromises, the proceeds of which were laundered to the Cape Town, South Africa area for the benefit of the defendants and their coconspirators.  A common narrative used by the Group for romance scams involves the purported online love interest traveling to Cape Town, South Africa to work on a construction project and requesting that the victim first send phones, tablets, and/or laptop computers to South Africa after purportedly being mugged.  Victims are also told that the purported online love interest needs a loan to pay for repairs for a faulty crane at the construction site, to pay for legal fees incurred as a result of an accident at the construction site, and/or to pay for foreign taxes to release a larger sum of money owed to the purported love interest.  Otubu and his coconspirators have used cryptocurrency exchanges to launder money obtained by business email compromise frauds.   

The Group has used aliases through the course of the scheme, including the following:

• Aiden Wilson
• Alan Salomon
• Ann Petersen
• Andy Richards
• Berry Don
• Bruce Dupont
• Charlie Stewart
• Chris Frank
• Collins Norden
• Dave Hewitt
• Dioli Guarneri
• Enriqo Roberto
• Eric Fernando
• Fredrick Alonzo
• Greg Hewat
• Hugo Benoit Rousseau
• Huy Hoang
• Kenneth Voitus Giorgio
• Maria Jacobs
• Paul Derek
• Pete Bradwell
• Peter Bennett
• Peter Scott
• Philip Coughlan
• Richard Amall
• Richard Luregn
• Richard Webber
• Rob Nicollela
• Sean Edgar
• Steven Thomas
• Terry Schneider

In addition, the defendants have used South African business entities to receive and conceal the true source of proceeds of these crimes.  Those entities include the following: 

• Peroski Auto & Spares Pty Ltd., which is associated with Perry Osagiede
• Edosflex Pty Ltd., which is associated with Franklyn Osagiede
• Abravoo Trading Company, which is associated with Izevbigie
• Tonymax Investments, which is associated with Iyamu
• Otubu Properties Pty Ltd., which is associated with Otubu

Questionnaire:

If you believe you may have been a victim of this fraud scheme, please complete and email this Questionnaire to blackaxevictims@fbi.gov.

Court Dates:

Seven defendants have been arrested in South Africa; Iyamu remains a fugitive.   

On approximately December 29, 2021, a judge in South Africa dismissed the arrested defendants’ requests for bail.  An extradition trial in South Africa is set to proceed on January 28, 2022 against the seven detained defendants. 

Resources:

District of New Jersey Victim-Witness Program Information: https://www.justice.gov/usao-nj/victim-witness

Press Releases:

October 19, 2021 Press Release

Court Documents:

Superseding Indictment  (Osagiede, et al.)

Indictment (Otubu)

Additional Information:

Please do not call the U.S. Attorney’s Office as we do not have the personnel resources to manage high volumes of calls.

The public is reminded that an indictment contains only charges and is not evidence of guilt. The defendants are presumed innocent and are entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.