Hefty sentence for Nigerian man who defrauded American homebuyer

The Johannesburg specialised commercial crimes court on Tuesday sentenced Nigerian Abdul Olatunji Samson to 10 years' imprisonment for theft after a transnational fraud case that defrauded an American homebuyer of more than R3.2m.

Samson was sentenced to an additional 10 years for money laundering.

At the time of his arrest, the accused was already in custody serving 12 years for fraud in an unrelated matter.

“The charges stem from a cyber-enabled fraud reported to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), which subsequently involved the US Secret Service which collaborated with South Africa’s Hawks,” said National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Phindi Mjonondwane.

She said the lead investigator, Col Oscar Mopedi, discovered that the victim’s email correspondence with their conveyancing attorney had been intercepted during a house purchase transaction.

Samson manipulated the communication by substituting the attorney’s legitimate banking details with those linked to a fraudulent Bank of America account.

“The victim unknowingly transferred over $200,000 (about R3.2m), which was later funnelled into various South African bank accounts. The accused personally benefited to the tune of R1.9m from the stolen funds.”

Mjonondwane said in aggravation of sentence that senior state advocate Ronel Dookun submitted that these types of crimes were complex to detect, investigate and prosecute, often involving sophisticated networks and high-level planning.

Dookun argued that sentences must reflect the serious affect these crimes have, especially when committed purely for self-enrichment.

“The NPA emphasises that internationally, complex corruption and fraud cases can take an average of eight years to finalise, due to their intricate nature. Within South Africa’s adversarial legal system, guilty pleas in such cases remain uncommon, contributing to prolonged litigation timelines,” Mjonondwane said.

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