Ever wonder about those Inheritance Scam Emails?

A Blaine, Wash., man convicted on federal wire fraud and tax charges for his role in a “Nigerian inheritance” fraud scheme was sentenced Friday to five years in prison following a probe by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI).

Stuart convinced various investors across the country to send him money so he could claim a Nigerian inheritance from a bank in Canada.  Stuart represented to investors that his father had made millions constructing an oil pipeline in Nigeria.  Stuart claimed his inheritance from his father was in a bank in Canada, and if investors provided enough money to pay the taxes, he would be able to access $30 million and investors would get a large return on their investment. There was no inheritance or Canadian bank account.  Stuart collected more than $3.8 million from investors across the country.

Stuart, who had previously been a victim of one of these scams, turned to actually committing these crimes.  His crime spree lasted between 2003 and 2010 and netted him $3.8 million!  Some people wired as much as $45,000 to Stuart in hopes of a big payday when his “inheritance” came through.  Various investors convinced their friends to participate as well, believing that if Stuart had just a bit more money, he would be able to access the large inheritance. 

I find it shocking at how much money people were sending Stuart.  This was a job well done by ICE!!

Source:  ICE.GOV