Tuesday, July 29, 2025

Tax preparer gets 42 months prison for PPP fraud; got $3.6 million

 

Million-dollar crime trail uncovered after woman caught at Perth airport with $190k cash stash

Bureau Report Bureau Report
Image Source: ABF
Image Source: ABF
A routine screening at Perth International Airport has blown the lid off a suspected multi-million-dollar money laundering operation, with the Australian Federal Police (AFP) now restraining about $7 million in assets believed to be proceeds of crime.
The extraordinary investigation began in October 2023 when airport security flagged irregularities in the luggage of a 65-year-old woman preparing to depart Australia. After being referred to the Australian Border Force (ABF), a search uncovered bundles of cash – $191,850 in Australian dollars, along with a small amount of Euros and other currency – concealed in her clothing and suitcase.
The AFP was called in and seized the cash, which the woman allegedly failed to declare. She claimed the money was savings, partly gifted by her family, including her son and daughter-in-law.


Wired: Social media influencer teaches Nigerian Yahoo boys their trade
 
Part eight on Fraud gangs:  Nigeria
Nigerian scammers seem responsible for a larger share of consumer fraud than any other group.    Nigeria is a former British colony, fairly well educated, and largely English-speaking.  It has a large population of 227 million and thus is quite a bit larger than Russia with 143 million.  Despite huge oil reserves, many people are relatively poor.  Thus there has been a massive Nigerian Diaspora to other countries around the world; and very large numbers have emigrated to the US, Canada, Europe, Ireland, and Asia. The main law enforcement body in Nigerian, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (the EFCC) has told me that they believe there may be 250,000 Nigerians living in just mainland China.
     Scammers from Nigeria, often known as Yahoo boys, are the primary operators of romance scams, but also operate a large number of other frauds, such as Sextortion scams targeting teenage boys, business email compromise fraud,  inheritance and lottery fraud, and the theft of government benefits, such as unemployment and PPP fraud.
     Often groups operate several different frauds simultaneously, working with partners around the world.  Some frauds interlink, such as using romance scam victims as mules to launder money for BEC and other frauds.   These frauds also have a strong fraud support network of related enterprises that they employ to provide internet support, move money, make fake web sites and passports, etc.  These are just facts. There is no more reason to believe that all, or even most,  Nigerians are scammers than it would be to believe all Italians are part of the Mafia. 
Next week: The Black Axe
  
Fraud Studies: Here are links to the studies I’ve written for the Better Business Bureau: puppy fraudromance fraud; BEC fraudsweepstakes/lottery fraud,  tech support fraudromance fraud money mulescrooked movers, government impostersonline vehicle sale scamsrental fraud, gift cards,  free trial offer frauds,  job scams,  online shopping fraud,  fake check fraud and crypto scams
 
Fraud News Around the worldHumor FTC and CFPBBenefit Theft Scam CompoundsBitcoin and Crypto FraudRansomware and data breachesATM Skimming                                                         Romance Fraud and Sextortion