A 29-year-old Nigerian man, Chidozie Collins Obasi, has been declared wanted in the United States for alleged fraud.
Obasi is being accused of allegedly defrauding US hospitals of $31 million by offering non-existent COVID-19 ventilators for sale. The US Department of Justice (DoJ) in a statement on Friday, said the suspect perpetrated the scheme from Nigeria with the help of co-conspirators abroad between September 2018 and June 2020.
Obasi and his accomplices allegedly obtained more than $31,000,000 through a complicated fraud scheme, the majority coming from the State of New York.
“The scheme alleged in the Indictment began in September 2018, with a sp@m email campaign that offered phony “work from home” jobs. When a person responded to the phony job offer, Obasi or a co-conspirator posed as a representative of a legitimate company, often a supposed medical equipment supplier based outside the United States, and offered the person a job as the company’s U.S. representative with responsibilities including collecting on outstanding invoices.
“In 2020, Obasi went further to pose as a ventilator salesman for an Indonesian medical supply company. Obasi allegedly convinced a medical equipment broker in the U.S. to broker sales of these non-existent ventilators, and ultimately deceived the State of New York into wiring more than $30 million for the purchase of ventilators that did not exist. He continued to target other potential customers with this same sc@m, including hospitals,” the statement read in part.
According to the indictment sheet, Obasi who is presently a fugitive and wanted by the United States, is being charged with “one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fr@ud, six counts of mail fr@ud and 16 counts of wire fr@ud”.
He faces a maximum sentence of 21 years in prison, a five-year period of supervised release, and a $5,750,000 fine and would also be required to make full restitution of the more than $31,000,000 that he allegedly obtained by fr@ud if found guilty.
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