A popular Yoruba proverb says, ‘everyday is for the thief, a day is for the owner or the law’ this aptly encapsulate the lifestyle of two Nigerian fraudsters caught in Canada who are believed to be involved $10 million fraud. They were arrested in massive fraud investigation dubbed Project Royal.
The con men are Adekunle Johnson Omitiran, 37 and Adedayo Ogundana, 45. The two fraudsters lived a “high-profile lifestyle of conspicuous consumption” supported by the proceeds of criminal activities, police announced on Tuesday.
“Thousands of individuals across the greater Toronto area have had their information compromised,” said Detective-Constable Mike Kelly. According to Mr. Kelly, unsuspecting victims have collectively lost an estimated $10 million.
Among the items seized during the investigation include a $10,000 pair of crocodile leather shoes, 37 stolen credit cards, $310,000 worth of wristwatches, $390,000 worth of clothing, jewelry and liquor, $39,000 in cash, hundreds of pieces of stolen mail, and several notebooks containing personal information of at least 5,000 residents of the greater Toronto area.
The evidence was discovered on April 24 during a raid of a condominium owned by Adekunle Johnson Omitiran, 37. He turned himself in on April 27 and will face charges of fraud, identity theft, trafficking identity information, possession of credit cards obtained by crime, possession of proceeds of crime, and failure to comply with probation at court on May 19, according reports in The Star.
Adedayo Ogundana, 45, also known as Oladipupo Ogund, of Toronto, was arrested in connection with the case on Dec. 13, 2016, and was charged with two counts of fraud over $5,000, 10 counts of fraud under $5,000, possession of property obtained by crime over $5,000 and possession of proceeds of crime, police said. He will appear in court on May 18.
On March 9, police issued a warrant for Duro Akintola, 44, also known as Michie Noah, of Toronto. Another man, Emmanuel Salako, 47, also known as Gee Salaq, was indicted by the United States Postal Inspection Service in Chicago under the name George Salako, and is wanted in the U.S.
The investigation, which according to police has been ongoing since summer 2016, was conducted with the help of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the Competition Bureau of Canada, the Ontario Ministry of Government and Consumer Services, the Ontario Ministry of Finance, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, York Regional Police, Canada Border Services Agency, the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, Canada Post Investigations, Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada and members of the public.
