CNN called him the king of home equity fraud. FBI labeled him as the most wanted fraudster who has scammed people worth over $44 million. Tobechi was the head of a seven man 419 gang first started in Dallas. These guys were so smart that they would use very hard to trace wireless cards and prepaid cellphones with area codes taped to them which means they could pretend to be in any country.
He owned a hip hop record label and he lived the high life of luxury hotels, gambling, strippers and bling. But behind the glitz and the glamour Tobechi Enyinna Onwuhara was one of the FBI’s most wanted men, allegedly a fraudster who scammed at least $44 million through cyber crimes.
But the sophisticated con artist, who fled Florida in August 2008 amid an intense FBI investigation, has been caught in Sydney and sent back to the US to face a string of fraud charges.
It is speculated that he started going into big time 419 at age 27, well that is what is known but he sure started it when he was much younger. Tobechi Onwuhara is not just very intelligent he was also very wealthy. He owned expensive properties in Miami, Dallas, and Phoenix. He even had a secret love condo. His house was seen with different naked women that if you didn’t know him well, you would think he was a porn director.
In Igbo land, Tobechi was a chiefteincy title holder, am Igbo too so am not proud of this. He is from Umuahia or Arochukwu lol one of them sha in Abia state. His mother is a very educated lawyer and the father is a very wealthy politician and one of the very first people in 19’something to import satellite TV, one of this sister was also a minister. Tobe was born in Huston, texas and grew up with one of his uncles, trust Naija we always feel to bring up a child abroad is the only way he will see the light at the end of the tunnel.
He moved back to Nigeria at age 15 and when he was older he attended Abia state university where he went to Medical school. In US, he was labeled the most successful and intelligent 419er who stole over $44 million in 3 years but so many people believe that figure is underestimated, his total theft according to some people is worth over $100 million. Just give him a cellphone and a laptop with an internet connection.
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Tobechi was so smart, his gang was divided into division of labor, some searched for profile of rich wealthy individual, made a profile of them, then tobechi will pose as an account holder who has lost his security number and password, after the bank must have ”verified” he would crack the bank security system and then transfer huge amount of money to an Asian account which he set up, then later the money will be laundered back to his US account, he was so careful that these transaction went unnoticed for years. That is what Tobech does-day light bank robbery in pyjamas and bathroom slippers.
He knew how the bank system works because he once worked in a bank, he was able to get information about real bank customers, also had help from a friend who had connections in the banking world, his fiance (name withheld) was also involved. He was caught in 2003 and sent to 12 months in prison where he vowed to the authorities in a statement that he would never commit any crime again but when he came out he became harder, smarter and more ambitious.
In 2013, after lying low in Nigeria and spraying money in the East every Christmas, he decided to go to Sydney, Australia where the Australian authorities alerted the FBI. That is 4 long years of chasing!
This is How The MEDIA REPORTED HIS ARREST
Nigerian-born Tobechi Onwuhara, 33, was “provisionally arrested in response to a request from the United States Government” in December last year, according to a spokeswoman for the Australian Attorney-General’s department. A spokeswoman for the AG’s department said Mr Onwuhara is to face prosecution in the US for fraud related offences, including identity fraud and computer fraud.
“On January 29, the Minister for Justice [Jason Clare] made a determination to surrender Mr Onwuhara to the US.
“As a matter of long standing practice, the Australian government does not comment on operational matters,” she said.
Fairfax Media understands Mr Onwuhara had been living it up in Sydney after disappearing in August 2008.
The FBI’s website now lists Mr Onwuhara as captured, but with scant detail of the arrest. They were offering a $25,000 reward for information leading to his arrest. The source who tipped off Fairfax said Mr Onwuhara had been making regular trips to The Star casino as well as splashing cash at numerous popular nightclubs.
“He would bet at the Star under a different name, he was a regular, then one day he just disappeared and someone told us he his wanted by the FBI,” a source said.
A spokeswoman for Echo entertainment, owner of The Star, did not return calls and emails. The US Consulate in Sydney also did not return calls. An Australian Federal Police spokesman confirmed the AFP arrested Mr Onwuhara.
According to the FBI’s most wanted list. Mr Onwuhara is wanted for his alleged involvement in an elaborate scheme that defrauded the financial industry out of tens of millions of dollars.
“Onwuhara is a key member of a group of Nigerians who allegedly have been conducting fraudulent banking activities from Florida and Texas, since 2005,” the FBI’s most wanted website states.
“It is alleged that the group has been using online internet databases to steal victims’ identities.
“Once acquired, they allegedly use the victims’ information to gain access to the victims’ ‘Home Equity Line of Credit’ accounts and wire transfer the money to accounts mainly located overseas, some in the United States.”
Some of Onwuhara’s alleged co-conspirators have been arrested, inside and outside of the United States, the FBI’s website states.
Onwuhara was charged federally with conspiracy to commit bank fraud, and a federal warrant was issued for his arrest by the US District Court, Eastern District of Virginia, on August 1, 2008.
Kanyi Okeke
naija oooooooo………nwanne m nwoke sef
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