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Investigating and Prosecuting Nigerian Fraud

NCJ Number
204674
Journal
United States Attorneys' Bulletin Volume: 49 Issue: 6 Dated: November 2001 Pages: 39-47
Author(s)
Jim Buchanan; Alex J. Grant
Date Published
November 2001
Length
9 pages
Annotation
After outlining the most prevalent kinds of fraud schemes that emanate from Nigeria and target American victims, this article describes the multiagency Nigerian Crime Initiative (NCI), and reports on recent relevant cases from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Texas and the Houston Area Fraud Task Force.
Abstract
According to the Secret Service, one-quarter of the major fraud scams it investigates now involve Nigerians. The frauds take on many forms, including dubious business deals with advance fees, insurance scams, health care fraud, credit card fraud, bank fraud, and identity theft. The most notorious of Nigerian scams is the advance-fee fraud scheme known as the "419" scheme, named after a statute in the Nigerian criminal code. This fraud typically begins with an unsolicited letter or e-mail. Responses from prospective victims typically lead to the request for an advance fee in order to facilitate the transfer of money to the United States for which the victim receives a percentage. Other types of Nigerian fraud involve access-device fraud, usually linked to several other Federal criminal violations, identity fraud and credit card fraud, and bank fraud. The NCI was launched in compliance with the 1995 Presidential Decision Directive 42, which aimed at countering international organized crime. It directed agencies to cooperate with one another and foreign governments in order to combat international organized crime more effectively. The NCI has been instrumental in developing an interagency working group for the purpose of sharing information and developing policy, the Anti-Drug Network computer system for collecting and tracking data that relate to Nigerian crime; and the Interagency Nigerian Organized Crime Task Forces, which are located in cities where Nigerian crime is more prevalent. The U.S. Secret Service was designated in 1998 by the U.S. Attorney General as the lead investigative agency for Nigerian crime. A number of Nigerian criminal cases have been successfully prosecuted in the Southern District of Texas as a result of aggressive investigation by the Houston Area Fraud Task Force. Summary descriptions are provided for the following cases: United States v. Okonkwo (a "419" scheme); United States v. Okiti (a "419" scheme); and United States v. Nwachukwu (a Nigerian in the United States involved in bank fraud and money laundering). The concluding section of this article discusses some of the challenges in prosecuting Nigerian fraud cases. The general advice offered by this article is that greater success against Nigerian fraud will require continued interagency collaboration, public education, and greater international cooperation.