FARGO, N.D. (AP) - A Canadian man accused of masterminding one of the largest high-tech bank robberies in U.S. history was sentenced to nearly 18 years in prison Monday following a years-long investigation into fake debt collection agencies that prosecutors say stole the identities of about 38,000 people.

Adekunle Adetiloye was accused of organizing a scheme to open nearly 600 fraudulent bank accounts and bilk 22 major banks, potentially costing credit card firms and banks up to $5 million. Assistant U.S. Attorney Nick Chase in North Dakota, where the case was handled, said the 40-year-old had an "insatiable hunger for other people's money."

Defense attorneys had argued that their client, the only person charged in the case, was a "marginal and minimal participant" whose role was to handle mail and withdraw money from ATMs. But prosecutors and the judge believed he was central to the scheme.

Investigators said Adetiloye incorporated two different companies in Delaware - Syspac Financial Services and Commet Consultant Inc. - that claimed to be debt collection companies. He gained access to commercial data providers, including large-scale outfits LexisNexis and ChoicePoint that only allow access to law enforcement, financial services and debt collection companies.

With access to those data providers, Adetiloye and others obtained the personal identification information to about 38,000 people, most of whom were medical professionals, and used that information to open credit card, debit and checking accounts, prosecutors said.

Those data providers said it was only the second such breach of that scale.

"Characterizing this fraud scheme as massive, if anything, is an understatement," Chase said in court documents.

Investigators' interest in Adetiloye, a native of Nigeria, was piqued after figuring out he was unemployed and receiving welfare yet living lavishly, complete with a Range Rover vehicle, extended trips to England and an expensive condominium. Then there were two credit cards tucked away in his wallet the each bore different names - Donald Douglas and Vincent Andriole - that seemed to confirm suspicions that he was up to something nefarious.

The complexity of the scheme - which took five years to investigate and litigate - was highlighted in a sentencing phase that has lasted nearly a year and included numerous hearings and briefings, and some 12,000 pages of court documents. The case wound up in North Dakota after U.S. Bank's customer service center in Fargo intercepted calls by Adetiloye and others.

U.S. District Judge Ralph Erickson handed down a 214-month prison term and scheduled a Feb. 15 hearing to discuss returning nearly $1.5 million in losses to credit card companies and banks. The judge has said losses may have been as much as $5 million.

Defense attorney Richard Henderson had asked for a sentence of fewer than 16 years for his client, who pleaded guilty to mail fraud charges. Henderson said any prison time is more difficult than it would be for American citizens because he has no family in the United States. No decision has been made about whether he plans to appeal, said Neil Fulton, lead federal public defender for North Dakota and South Dakota.

"The sentence imposed today should send a strong message to those who would seek to scam the citizens and businesses of North Dakota and the United States," U.S. Attorney Timothy Purdon said in a statement released Monday. "We take the growing problem of foreign financial fraud seriously here and seeking justice for the victims of such crimes is a priority for our office."

Greg Krier, lead credit card fraud investigator for U.S. Bank, testified during the sentencing phase of the case that it was the most complex case he had ever seen. His company, which has its own fraud unit, launched special training sessions focusing on the case in hopes of catching the culprits.

The lead investigator, one of 25 people who worked on the case, put in 2,000 hours, authorities said.

Investigators initially said the operation accessed information of nearly 16,000 people, about 500 of whom had their identities stolen for the purpose of obtaining credit cards. It's alleged that more than 100 commercial mailboxes were opened under false or stolen identities.

But further investigation showed that the scheme actually accessed personal information to some 38,000 people. The government said Adetiloye went so far as to mask his handwriting after a judge ordered a test of his calligraphy.

Erickson, the federal judge, said in court documents ahead of the sentencing that the evidence "indisputably demonstrates" that Adetiloye was a leader or organizer of the scheme. The judge calculated losses to banks at about $1.5 million, but said it could have been as high as $5 million if credit limits had been maxed out.

The trauma cannot be measured, Erickson said.

"The non-monetary harm to the victims was substantial," the judge wrote. "They lost sleep, they lost time with their families, they lost time at work, and they lost their sense of security. Some victims spent hours trying to reclaim their credit record and their identities."

Court documents show that U.S. Bank suffered the most number of tainted accounts, at 130, for a total loss of about $76,000. The companies alleged to have lost the most money were Citibank, at about $271,000, and Discover, at about $248,000.

Brett Bogan, the security investigations manager at Reed Elsevier, the parent company of LexisNexis and ChoicePoint, told the court that data breaches of this type are extremely rare and knew of only one other case like it. He said the company sent out notices to more than 32,000 people whose personal information was compromised by the scheme.

"With their combined extensive and nationwide perspective, those entities place this fraud scheme at or near the top of their historical lists in terms of size and complexity," Chase said in court documents.

http://www.kctv5.com/story/16577642/canadian-man-faces-up-to-22-years-for-credit-fraud?clienttype=printable

Na wetin be the man name?
Which tribe im come from?
Yoruba or Yigbo?

Adetiloye was a leader or organizer of the scheme

Yoruba?

Surprise. . .surprise!

Adeboye and Oyedepo slaps don fail for white man land!

Lasinoh:

Yoruba?

Surprise. . .surprise!

Adeboye and Oyedepo slaps don fail for white man land!

he is a Nigeria case closed or can you reverse the case and ask the judge to judge him based on his ethnicity?

i thought traveling abroad help in enlighten people ?

We know he is a Nigerian.
But what part of Nigeria? So we can keep the stats straight.
I fit h-essplain to my pipo for work say na Yoruba and Yigbo peeps dey do that kain business.
Simple.

I can only say one Nigeria when it is a good thing sweerie.
If na criminal thingy. . . O ISRAEL TO THEY TENTS!
Shikena!!!

The world must know WHAT PART OF NIGERIA BRINGS SHAME TO NIGERIA.

Na Yoruba and Yigbo pipo! TOO CRIMINAL-MINDED!

Kai!!!

Lasinoh:

We know he is a Nigerian.
But what part of Nigeria? So we can keep the stats straight.
I fit h-essplain to my pipo for work say na Yoruba and Yigbo peeps dey do that kain business.
Simple.

I can only say one Nigeria when it is a good thing sweerie.
If na crimimal thingy. . . O ISRAEL TO THEY TENTS!
Shikena!!!

The world must know WHAT PART OF NIGERIA BRINGS SHAME TO NIGERIA.

Na Yoruba and Yigbo pipo! TOO CRIMINAL-MINDED!

Kai!!!

Ok good,what about terrorist.you better hurry up and check how far about your family before boko boys roast them with a minute. hey kindly say hi to your twin brother (Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab) osama bin ladden younger brother

Who is this lasinoh buffon.
Sit down and stop vomiting nonsense from ur mouth.

One_Naira:

Who is this lasinoh buffon.
Sit down and stop vomiting nonsense from ur mouth.

he is a cousin of popular terrorist (Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab)

These Yoruba/Yigbo criminals should shorrrop jor!
Una nor dey shame?

My girl Funmi has three uncles in prison in UK - all in for some type of fraud. One for forging UK passports, the other for making dupes of bank cards and one for fake loans on properties. She said that a lot of Yoruba men do it because they feel that England messed up Nigeria, so they want to do the same to England. I think this mentality is unfair, because we provide a safe haven for the hell-hole that goes by the name of Nigeria.

UK Bobo:

My girl Funmi has three uncles in prison in UK - all in for some type of fraud. One for forging UK passports, the other for making dupes of bank cards and one for fake loans on properties. She said that a lot of Yoruba men do it because they feel that England messed up Nigeria, so they want to do the same to England. I think this mentality is unfair, because we provide a safe haven for the hell-hole that goes by the name of Nigeria.

I just knew there was something sinister about your post. Then I saw your profile pic and the face of a white man stared back at me. Then I started going through your posts and I kept hearing a Nigerian Accent in my head as I read your written words. I dug further. . . . .

UK Bobo:

I second the motion but we also need to get foreigner to handle our PHCN and other public infrastructure.

I agree with you fully.

https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria?topic=851456.msg10022679#msg10022679

Moral of the story? Its very hard to keep up with a lie. Light always outshines dark.

It sucks to be thought of as a human-goat, but its even worse to be confirmed as one. Carry on, wanna-be white man.

@UKBOBO in as much as am not in support in what those guys are doing please you should not bash my dear country. Yeah hell-hole by your standard but it is still my homeland and for that I demand you careful choose your words nicely when describing my country. And for the record the last time I checked Madoff and Allen Standford are not from your so called "hell-hole"

Back to topic it is quite shameful how people go about tarnishing naija image and in defense they come up with the silly excuses. If you check properly am sure that these guys have been arraigned for same offence more than once.

@king

U nailed it hommie,I have been following up dat UKBOBO of a tin gawd it doesn't take a G 2 read how his thick Nigerian accent shines tru his post.In his deluded mind he's getting away with a fake ass persona SMH!!! Wot a wannabe

Idowuogbo:

@king

U nailed it hommie,I have been following up dat UKBOBO of a tin gawd it doesn't take a G 2 read how his thick Nigerian accent shines tru his post.In his deluded mind he's getting away with a fake Bottom persona SMH!!! Wot a wannabe

O se jare, eyan gidi

Wait o, how come our profile pics look alike? Are we somehow related? lol

I understand that Nigerians are generally quite mistrustful and unbelieving of each other. The little that I do know from my time in Lagos is that everyone is scared of each other, tribes, policemen, robbers etc, There are even people who do not tell their own family when they are travelling around/back home - for fear of being set-up/robbed or even murdered. I am not astounded that the fact that someone might have their real profile picture uploaded surprises you, because let's be honest, most Nigerians partake in smoke and mirrors, where what you see is not what you get.

Even reading these boards, the level of self-hate is astounding. How can you expect others to love you, when you do not love each other. It is this lack of love and communal concern which you take with you when you leave the country. A lot of fraudsters are cold in attitude because they distance themselves from the community and this enables them to fleece it dry. Here in London, it is mainly done by Yorubas, but I think it is a national characteristic which needs a national mentality shift.

At least we have one Igbo thief that Inspired a NLander on this board.
We need to watch out for the Yoruba ones.
You know they always compete in the worst areas of criminology!

kingoflag:

O se jare, eyan gidi

Wait o, how come our profile pics look alike? Are we somehow related? lol

Lol omo iya we might be o,let me confirm my family tree first yellow boi hehehe

UK Bobo:

I understand that Nigerians are generally quite mistrustful and unbelieving of each other. The little that I do know from my time in Lagos is that everyone is scared of each other, tribes, policemen, robbers etc, There are even people who do not tell their own family when they are travelling around/back home - for fear of being set-up/robbed or even murdered. I am not astounded that the fact that someone might have their real profile picture uploaded surprises you, because let's be honest, most Nigerians partake in smoke and mirrors, where what you see is not what you get.

Even reading these boards, the level of self-hate is astounding. How can you expect others to love you, when you do not love each other. It is this lack of love and communal concern which you take with you when you leave the country. A lot of fraudsters are cold in attitude because they distance themselves from the community and this enables them to fleece it dry. Here in London, it is mainly done by Yorubas, but I think it is a national characteristic which needs a national mentality shift.

Oyinbo Mandela na only 1 Fela dey o,wot exactly are u driving act? No matter how much u try to style it out u can't cover up who u are.I continue 2 read and it seems u have added a lil twist to ur style of writing,hmmmm even if u decide to change fonts dat I have noticed earlier still shines tru notin u do changes jack.Dude b tru to yourself and ur roots dats all I gat to say.

Peace!

LMAO @ UK Bobo.

Can yall quit with the crazy talk for once. Everything has to be tribalized. Una dey tire at all

This adds to the shame we Nigerians living abroad go through on the streets daily

when will Bankole/Bamikole Omishore be arrested for credit card fraud ? I have alerted the FBI on his case and they have not responded. I hear that he has run away too Nigeria,


Bank of America, we are waiting.

Godliness with contentment is a great gain.

this saddens me.

it is as if some Nigerians will breach every trust given to them, and use that trust to exploit any unsuspecting citizen.

this is the same trust that society gives another person in order to function properly.

the funny part is that they think that these fraudsters and their supporters think the fraudsters are "smart" for using this trust to take advantage of the unwary.

A F00l at 40 is a F00l forever, Is he an IGBO man , am curious

;d

uti-mayor:

[size=30pt]the man is a YORUBAH as Usual 'insatiable cream-in-als' as usual[/size]

Dude, you need help, visit your doctor.

Lasinoh:

Yoruba?

Surprise. . .surprise!

Adeboye and Oyedepo slaps don fail for white man land! :

This is why we can't have children on Nairaland. They display the gutter speech and behaviour all the time!!

Idowuogbo:

Oyinbo Mandela na only 1 Fela dey o,wot exactly are u driving act? No matter how much u try to style it out u can't cover up who u are.I continue 2 read and it seems u have added a lil twist to ur style of writing,hmmmm even if u decide to change fonts dat I have noticed earlier still shines tru notin u do changes jack.Dude b tru to yourself and ur roots dats all I gat to say.

Peace!

@UKBobo, what the hell is this about? why should you be in denial of your origins. Everyone knows you can't choose how, who or where you're born naa, it is what you do with yourself subsequently that defines you so why the pretence?

I must say that your posts usually do make a lot of sense but stop the pretence and come clean, lets forget about this thing jare, you know we Nigerians are very forgiving.

Lasinoh:

Yoruba?

Surprise. . .surprise!

Adeboye and Oyedepo slaps don fail for white man land!

@Lasinoh, You are not only myopic but a tribalistic dog, No wonder Nigeria No fit good, I don't have an answer for you though, But one thing is certain if a yoruba man or woman has done anything good for u or u live in the land (my guess). then, I no go talk wetin dey my mouth, BE GUIDED YOU FOOL!

A tribe that can stay in a location where they are being slaughtered every hour because of their business, must be the one that really loves money, a tribe that can choose to live to 35years old as long as they will be multi-millionaires within that short life, must be the one that really loves money, a tribe that 90% of them are the ones caught for drugs or beheaded in Malaysia and China must really love money, a tribe that can't harness their political thoughts together just because of what they are going to eat must really love money. Guys, this ethnic baiting is puerile and uncalled for, Adetiloye is a stain on Nigerians and not a tribe; the Oyinbos only know Nigerians not Efik or Ibibio nor Fufulde.

[size=30pt]NIGERIA = COUNTRY FILLED UP WITH FRAUD, TERRORIST, KIDNAPPING.  FROM TOP TO BOTTOM, FROM PASTORS TO POLITICIAN, FROM IMAM TO ALMAJIRI  [/size]

why some folks never plan to quit there bad habbit of living.mayb when he comes out plus his age, he will now think of what to do, so sad 18yrs!!!