Nigerian man remanded for fleecing women of over $6 million
A Nigerian who the court heard entered Guyana illegally from Brazil through Lethem was on Wednesday slapped with an additional 11 fraud-related charges.
Uche Raymond Okoye, also known as Uche Parker, of Lot 6 Delph Street, Campbellville, Georgetown was charged by the Special Organized Crime Unit (SOCU) for allegedly being part of a package delivery criminal organization that fraudulently receives cash deposits from unsuspecting victims, particularly women.
Okoye made a virtual appearance before Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan. It is alleged that between October 15, 2020, to November 16, 2020, at Georgetown, with intent to defraud, he obtained from Suruj Dei Balkaran the sum of $6,059,900, by falsely claiming he had packages intended to be sent to her. He was also slapped with a similar charge which stated that he obtained $50,000 from another woman by falsely claiming he had a package to be sent to her.
Okoye was not required to plead to the indictable charges after they were read to him by the Magistrate. He was remanded to prison since he has no ties to Guyana. He will make his next court appearance on March 17, 2021, for reports.
According to reports, Okoye is suspected to be part of a criminal network involving Nigerian nationals who collaborate with other associates to solicit cash from their victims by promising high-valued merchandise following the payment of a charge or fee.
Investigation revealed a bigger network of Nigerians engaged in a package delivery fraud scheme being committed on Guyanese citizens. On November 24, last, Okoye was charged with two counts of obtaining money by false pretence; demanding money by menace; and entering Guyana by crossing the land frontier and failing to present himself to an immigration officer.
The Guyana Police Force (GPF) has said that Okoye is part of a criminal organisation that has allegedly scammed unsuspecting Guyanese victims out of millions of dollars.
According to local Police, the organization has been operating in Guyana and has connections to the United Kingdom, Nigeria, Peru, Brazil, Venezuela, Argentina, Paraguay, the United States of America, and other countries.
The GPF has warned citizens, especially women about a scam involving persons pretending to be of Nigerian nationality who will make contact through Facebook and Whatsapp and offer to send them packages. Police said that the perpetrators would demand that victims pay a large sum of cash to clear the packages and to prevent prosecution given the contents of the packages.
