A Nigerian man resident in the United States allegedly swindled many unsuspecting American banks out of thousands of dollars.
Musiliu Amusa used pseudonyms to commit these crimes, according to a 2021 indictment record by the Grand Jury of the District of Maryland seen by Peoples Gazette.
Amusa reportedly used aliases such as “Kelvin E Robert” and “Ifaolokun Asorodayo,” a Nigerian (Yoruba) deity to defraud the banks between Oct. 1, 2016, and Sept. 7, 2017.
The names of the banks were redacted from the indictment sheet.
The document also shows that Amusa – also known as “Ifaolokun Asorodayo” made illicit withdrawals “under the custody and control of the Victim Banks, by means of materially false and fraudulent pretences, representations, and promises.”
Amusa had earlier presented himself as a British citizen and a living Yoruba deity to dupe the unsuspecting U.S. banking officials.
The charge sheet signed Aug. 4, 2021 by acting U.S. attorney Jonathan Lenzner, which was filed in the United States District Court for the District of Maryland, partly reads:
“It was part of the scheme that AMUSA opened account at the Victim Banks in false names using false passports, including a false United Kingdom passport in the name of “Kelvin Emmanuel Robert” and a false Nigeria passport in the name of “Asorodayo Ifaolokun.’”
Amusa, resident in the State of New York, made three days’ worth of unauthorised withdrawals totaling $6,500 from an unidentified bank in August 2017. He also used a fake bank check to deposit $11,379.50 at the Frederick, Maryland, branch of the bank.
“It was further part of the scheme that AMUSA obtained bank checks with the payee information altered to reflect false names, such as “Kelvin E. Robert” and “Asorodayo Ifaolokun,” the indictment document shows.
Lenzner, the case’s acting US attorney, initiated a forfeiture lawsuit to make Amusa return to the US government any assets he used his scam to obtain.
“MUSILIU AMUSA, a/k/a “Kelvin Emmanuel Robert,” a/k/a “Asorodayo Ifaolokun,” shall forfeit to the United States any property constituting, or derived from, proceeds obtained directly or indirectly, as the result of such offenses,” the document states.
The number of U.S. banks that fell victim to Amusa’s scheme is not known. They were only referred to as “Victim Banks.”
