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.
In Igbo land, Tobechi was a chiefteincy title holder, He is from 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.
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!
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.
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