A Rhode Island man was charged on four federal crime charges after being arrested earlier this month for allegedly duping a number of banks out of more than $100,000.
Opeyemi Abdulahhi Orekan, a citizen of Nigeria, was taken into custody on April 10 by Department of Homeland Security agents who say he was involved in an organized fraud ring that used fake Nigerian and Ghanan passports and false identities to scam banks out of thousands of dollars.
The federal government is charging him with bank fraud, passport fraud, identity fraud, and access device fraud, originally reported by affiliate NBC10’s Investigative Team.
According to DHS investigators, Orekan used nine different identities to open bank accounts at branches of Bank of America, Webster Bank, and Santander to deposit counterfeit checks and withdraw funds. Money was then sent to an individual in Nigeria. One account had a reported $37,000 in losses.
“Orekan has been engaged in a lengthy pattern of fraud that has been perpetuated across at least 10 different financial institutions,” says Keith Holleran, a special agent with Homeland Security Investigations, in an affidavit filed in U.S. District Court in Providence.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Lee Vilker told the court that investigators have found evidence including passports that were discovered in a ceiling crawl. A bag filled with passports was also found in an old, rolled-up carpet found by the property manager of one of the apartments where Orekan resided. The property manager reported the discovery to the FBI.
The judge denied Orekan’s request that he be released to his family members with electronic monitoring.
DETAILS OF HIS FRAUDULENT ACTIVITIES AS REPORTED BY JOHNSTON POLICE LOG
On November 21 around 1:33 p.m., Officer Adam Parkinson responded to the Atwood Avenue Santander Bank in reference to some fraudulent banking activity. There, he was advised by bank personnel that sometime in July a man entered the bank and used a Nigerian passport to open an account. Upon opening the account, he deposited two business checks that appeared altered – the checks were legitimate, however, the person they were drafted to was false – and had denominations of $13,900 and $12,055.78.
Several days later, the man returned and withdrew all the money, and it was discovered that multiple Internet transfers totaling several thousand dollars had been conducted. The bank advised that a report was filed with the company’s fraud department but not with the Johnston Police Department.
Opeyemi Abdulahhi Orekan
Officer Parkinson was then told that a month later another account was opened through the bank by the same man with another altered check in the amount of $20,238.65. Again, the suspect tried to withdraw the funds a few days later. However, the teller advised that the account had been blocked and the funds were unavailable.
A third account was later opened at a Cranston branch of Santander, however, this time the man used a passport from Ghana. Again, an altered check was used and an attempt was made to withdraw all the funds. The man was recognized from previous encounters and an attempt was made to stall the man while the bank’s fraud department was contacted. When the bank employee returned, however, the man was no longer on the premises.
The bank advised that they wished to pursue criminal charges, and the suspect was identified as Opeyemi Orekan, 26, of 5 Fera Street, Apt. 3 in North Providence. A warrant was then issued for his arrest.
On January 8, Patrolman Louis Cotoia and other members of the department responded to the Pawtucket Police Department to take custody of Orekan, who had been arrested. He was also wanted by the Cranston Police Department for passing counterfeit bills and identity fraud. He was transported back to Johnston, arraigned before Justice of the Peace Connors and released on $10,000 personal recognizance. He was then turned over to the Cranston Police for their outstanding charges.
– Michal Onas I Source:Johnston Police Department Log
