14 DAY TRIAL // A 54-year-old man, accused of running a lottery scam that helped him make a profit of almost £800,000 (964,000 EUR or $1.3 million), has been sentenced by a United Kingdom court to serve 6 years in prison.
Patrick Bomboi Emuh, of Bromhedge, Greenwich, sent out bogus emails to at least 20 people from various countries – including UK, USA, Germany, New Zealand, Chile, Australia and Romania.
Recipients were informed that they had won a lottery or inherited money from a distant relative (the classic topics for 419 scams).
According to the Metropolitan Police, Emuh tricked his victims into paying advance fees, taxes, legal fees and handling charges via Western Union.
In some cases, the crimes went far beyond emails. Some of the victims actually travelled to the UK and were shown bank notes that were allegedly “contaminated.” They were instructed to pay a fee to have the money cleaned up.
The investigation into the scam run by Emuh began back in 2006 when police found large amounts of money in his bank account. At the time, he told investigators that he owned a diesel oil business and that the victims were actually customers from Nigeria.
“This sentence is well deserved. Emuh span a convoluted and convincing web of lies to con victims, who he had no concern for, out of their money,” Doug Ferns, of the Metropolitan Police’s Specialist and Economic Crime Command and the one who led the investigation, explained.
“We are determined to continue uncovering scams like this and seeing that the perpetrators receive the kind of sentence that Emuh has. If a stranger contacts you saying you have inherited money or won a lottery and must pay fees to access your windfall, do not believe it. Call the police.”