RCMP, London Police Service and the Manhattan District Attorney's Office charge 4 in elaborate online fraud

LONDON, ON, Dec. 1, 2015 /CNW/ - Members of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) London Financial Crime Unit and the London Police Service (LPS) have charged four individuals with various fraud charges stemming from a 10 month investigation into theft of over $450,000 USD from a New York City based Multimedia Corporation. 

The investigation began in September 2014 when the Office of Manhattan District Attorney's Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., was alerted to an elaborate defrauding of Firstborn Multimedia Corporation.  Armed with forged credentials, American suspects were able to cause $450,000 USD to be wired from Firstborn Multimedia Corporation's bank accounts to conspirators in Canada, who in turn laundered the money back to the United States and also to Nigeria. 

The following two individuals have been arrested and charged with:

Moshidi Alfa GIWA-OSAGIE (48) of Toronto, Ontario:

• Fraud over $5,000
• Laundering the Proceeds of Crime
• Possession of the Proceeds of Crime

Osayuwu AGBONIFO (42) of Toronto, Ontario:

• Laundering the Proceeds of Crime
• Possession of the Proceeds of Crime

The following two individuals have been charged with:

Sunny AGHARIAHA (47) of Mississauga, Ontario:

• Laundering the Proceeds of Crime
• Possession of the Proceeds of Crime

Riham Sherefedin SITOTAW (25) of Toronto, Ontario:

• Attempted Possession of the Proceeds of Crime
• Using Forged Document 

All are scheduled to appear on January 12th, 2016, Courtroom 5, 9:30 am at the London Courthouse, 80 Dundas Street, London, Ontario.

"The RCMP is committed to protecting the economic integrity of Canada and works to identify criminal organizations who seek to launder proceeds of crime. This investigation is an excellent example of how law enforcement agencies, working together locally, nationally and internationally, were able to disrupt the goals of a criminal organization". Insp. Andrew Cowan, Officer in Charge of London Detachment, RCMP.

"I want to commend the excellent, collaborative work ‎amongst the police services involved. These types of crimes have no boundaries and the cooperation amongst our law enforcement agencies was critical to the successful outcome of this investigation." Detective Superintendent William Merrylees, London Police Service.

Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., said: "Cyber-attacks can be launched at any time, by anyone, and from anywhere in the world, which is why international collaboration is more important than ever when it comes to identifying and addressing malicious cyber activity. I thank the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and our others partners in law enforcement for their invaluable assistance and commitment to holding individuals responsible for criminal conduct affecting victims both at home in the U.S. and abroad. Anyone with information about the New York portion of this case is encouraged to contact my Office's Cybercrime and Identity Theft Hotline at 212-335-9600."

Anyone who has had email contact with the address [email protected] is encouraged to contact the RCMP London Financial Crime unit. The investigation by the RCMP and LPS is continuing.

Anyone with information regarding criminal activity is encouraged to contact their local police, the RCMP at 1-800-387-0020 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS.

SOURCE Royal Canadian Mounted Police

Cpl Kevin Woodruff, London Financial Crime, RCMP "O" Division (Ontario), 519-640-5110; Twitter: @RCMPONT Facebook: RCMP.Ontario YouTube: RCMPGRCPOLICE Website: RCMP in Ontario