₦airaland Forum

Many Yahoo boys are very smart, many drug peddlers are naturally very good businessman but they choose to go the wrong route.

With the arrest of Hushpuppi and many others who are getting arrested and flow back to USA to face sentences and lengthy prison time.

One Oba from Osun State is currently in jail awaiting trial.

Please do legit hustle, you are already brilliant why not apply your mind to legit work or hustle. It may not be easy at the beginning, but the reward will come.

Do you want to spend time in prison, and you cannot even visit your aging parents because you are being locked up.

Do not think you cannot be caught; many get caught not immediately but later in years and the least time they expect and spend decades in prison. They miss their children's birthdays, weddings, graduation and parents' burial and so forth.

Finally, they get deported with nothing to show for or die in prison. Do not spend time in US prison or foreign prison where homosexual sex is rampant, or you cannot even get a hug or kiss from a woman.

Some of drug peddlers are being executed in Saudi Arabia or those no-nonsense Asian countries- why smuggling drugs when you might get caught and get killed by the authority in those countries.

Why rob a bank or kidnap somebody with blood on your hands- you are mostly likely to get into a gunfight with soldiers and policemen one of these days. Even if you get Scot free, you now have children, someone might kidnap your children because you did the same to other people children.

Do legit hustle, be fair and be honest in your dealings.

Start blame from tinubu

David Daniyan Admits Supervising Conspiracies Led by Nigerian Citizen Oluwaseun Adekoya
ALBANY, NEW YORK – David Daniyan, a/k/a “Bamikole Laniyan,” a/k/a “David Enfield,” a/k/a “Africa,” age 60, of Brooklyn, New York, pled guilty today in connection with his role in bank fraud and money laundering conspiracies led by Oluwaseun Adekoya, age 39, also a Nigerian citizen, of Cliffside Park, New Jersey. Acting United States Attorney Daniel Hanlon and Craig L. Tremaroli, Special Agent in Charge of the Albany Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), made the announcement.

Daniyan pled guilty today to conspiracy to commit bank fraud, money laundering conspiracy, and aggravated identity theft. Daniyan admitted that, working with Adekoya, he obtained the personal identifying information of people residing all over the United States and recruited lower-level conspirators to impersonate those people using fake driver’s licenses to fraudulently obtain cash, checks, and loans at their financial institutions and obtain merchandise using credit at retailers including Saks Fifth Avenue. Daniyan also admitted to conspiring with Adekoya and others to launder the proceeds of their bank fraud by, among other things, using fraudulently obtained funds to purchase additional fake driver’s licenses and depositing fraudulently obtained checks into accounts in the names of identity-theft victims that were controlled by coconspirators. Daniyan admitted that the bank fraud conspiracy netted over $1.7 million in fraud proceeds, and was perpetrated in the Northern District of New York and all over the country.

According to documents previously filed in the case, Daniyan, a citizen of Nigeria, has been living in the United States without authorization under numerous aliases since at least the 1990s when he was first investigated, charged, and convicted in another federal district under the stolen identity of a U.S. citizen.

The following defendants are charged as follows in the superseding indictment:

Adekoya is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, one count of money laundering conspiracy, and nine counts of aggravated identity theft;
Kani Bassie, age 36, of Brooklyn, is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and two counts of aggravated identity theft;
Davon Hunter, age 27, of Richmond, Virginia, is charged with conspiracy to commit bank fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft;
Jermon Brooks, age 20, of Richmond, is charged with conspiracy to commit bank fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft;
Christian Quivers, age 20, of Richmond, is charged with conspiracy to commit bank fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft; and
Crystal Kurschner, age 44, of Brooklyn, is charged with conspiracy to commit bank fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft.
As to these defendants, the charges in the superseding indictment are merely accusations. These remaining defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

The prosecution is the result of an ongoing investigation led by the U.S. Attorney’s Office and FBI-Albany, which began after the May 2022 arrest of Daniyan, Gaysha Kennedy, age 46, of Brooklyn, and Victor Barriera, age 64, of the Bronx, New York, by the Cohoes Police Department after the trio traveled to the Capital Region to commit bank fraud.

Adekoya, Daniyan, Kennedy, and Barriera were originally indicted, along with coconspirators Jerjuan Joyner, age 50, of Brooklyn, Akeem Balogun, age 56, of Brooklyn, Danielle Cappetti, age 46, of the Bronx, and Lesley Lucchese, age 53, of Brooklyn, in connection with the conspiracy in an indictment returned in December 2023.

Sherry Ozmore, Kennedy, Barriera, Joyner, Balogun, Cappetti, and Lucchese have pled guilty to bank fraud conspiracy.

At sentencing on July 10, 2025, Daniyan faces a maximum term of 30 years in prison for the bank fraud conspiracy, 20 years in prison for the money laundering conspiracy, and a mandatory consecutive term of 2 years in prison for his conviction of aggravated identity theft; as well as an order of restitution of at least $1,776,705.43 and a term of supervised release of up to 5 years. Daniyan also agreed to forfeit nearly $100,000 in proceeds of the bank fraud conspiracy seized by federal authorities. A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the particular statutes the defendant is charged with violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other factors.

Following his term of imprisonment, Daniyan will be placed into immigration removal proceedings.

FBI Albany is investigating the case, with assistance from the FBI Field Offices in New York, Newark, Richmond and Resident Agencies in Westchester, New York; Brooklyn/Queens, New York; Garrett Mountain, New Jersey; and Fort Walton Beach, Florida. Additional assistance was provided by other law enforcement agencies, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement – Enforcement & Removal Operations (New York Field Office & Albany sub-office); U.S. Department of State Diplomatic Security Service (Buffalo Field Office & St. Albans Resident Office); U.S. Social Security Administration – Office of the Inspector General; New York law enforcement agencies including the New York State Police; Cohoes PD; Colonie PD; Elmira PD; Corning PD; Plattsburgh PD; Florida law enforcement agencies including the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office and Escambia County Sheriff’s Office; the Pennsylvania State Police; Alabama law enforcement agencies including the Calhoun County Sheriff’s Office, Gasden PD, and Rainbow City PD; Georgia law enforcement agencies including the Georgia State Patrol, Bartow County Sheriff’s Office, and Morrow PD; Kansas law enforcement agencies including Lawrence PD and Overland Park PD; New Hampshire law enforcement agencies including Rochester PD, Manchester PD, and Amherst PD; the Delaware State Police; Maryland law enforcement agencies including the Maryland State Police, Harford County Sheriff’s Office and Baltimore County Sheriff’s Office; Wisconsin law enforcement agencies including Onalaska PD and Eau Claire PD; and Indiana law enforcement agencies including the Allen County Sheriff’s Office.

Assistant United States Attorneys Benjamin S. Clark and Joshua R. Rosenthal are prosecuting this case.

source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndny/pr/nigerian-citizen-admits-guilt-bank-fraud-and-money-laundering-conspiracies-causing

Nomerci:
Start blame from tinubu

I did not vote for him

Defendant scammed victims out of as much as $2 million claiming to be romantic partner deployed in the U.S. military
Seattle – A 40-year-old Nigerian national was arrested upon his arrival at an airport in Texas on an indictment returned in the Western District of Washington. Franklin Ikechukwu Nwadialo was indicted in December 2023 for 14 counts of wire fraud connected to his romance fraud scheme. Nwadialo was traveling from Nigeria when he was arrested. Nwadialo will be transported to the Western District of Washington for arraignment.

“All too often the defendants in these romance scams are overseas and unreachable by U.S. law enforcement,” said U.S. Attorney Tessa M. Gorman. “I congratulate investigators who are alert to any opportunity to arrest such defendants and hold them accountable.”

According to the indictment and criminal complaint filed in the case, Nwadialo allegedly defrauded victims of more than $3.3 million. According to the indictment, Nwadialo used various versions of the name ‘Giovanni” when he met his victims online on websites such as Match, Zoosk, and Christian Café. Nwadialo used false images for his profile and typically told the victims that he was in the military and deployed overseas so he could not meet the victims in person. Using these personas, Nwadialo invented many reasons he needed the victims to send him money. In one such case in 2020, he indicated he had been fined by the military for revealing his location to the victim. He asked the victim to help him pay the $150,000 fine. In all, that victim was defrauded of at least $2.4 million.

A second victim was contacted in 2019 to help move funds from U.S. accounts to accounts controlled by the defendant and his co-schemers. In this instance Nwadialo represented that he needed the help moving money in connection with his father’s death. The victim transferred at least $330,000 to the accounts controlled by the defendant.

A third victim was defrauded by Nwadialo when he told her that he was investing money for her. He claimed that a check she received from another victim was proceeds from her investments and he had her “reinvest” the money in a specific cryptocurrency account that he controlled. The victim transferred at least $270,000 at Nwadialo’s direction.

Finally, in August 2020, Nwadialo defrauded another victim who he met on an online dating site and caused this victim to transfer at least $310,000 by claiming he needed financial assistance, including help paying for his father’s funeral or his son’s school tuition.

The fourteen counts of wire fraud relate to the communications with Nwadialo and the wiring of funds from victims to the defendant and his co-schemers.

Wire fraud is punishable by up to twenty years in prison.

The charges contained in the indictment are only allegations. A person is presumed innocent unless and until he or she is proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

The case is being investigated by the FBI.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Sok Jiang.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdwa/pr/nigerian-national-arrested-arrival-us-indictment-multi-million-dollar-romance-fraud

The Apetu of Ipetumodu in Osun State, Joseph Oloyede, is in custody of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

He has been indicted for conspiracy, wire fraud, and money laundering.

Oloyede was installed as the monarch of Ipetumodu in 2019 and frequently travelled between Nigeria and the US for “royal and personal engagements”.

However, he has been missing for nearly a year and was absent at three major traditional festivals, including the annual ‘egungun festival and Edi celebration’.

The US department of transportation has now issued a statement, in which it was revealed that a grand jury indicted Oloyede and one Edward Oluwasanmi.

“The indictment alleges that Oloyede and Oluwasanmi fraudulently obtained over $4.2 million in COVID-19 relief funds guaranteed by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, including Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans and Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDLs),” the statement reads.

The documents showed that Oloyede and Oluwasanmi were arrested on April 5, 2024.

The indictment claims that from April 2020 to February 28, 2022, Oloyede and Oluwasanmi used PPP and EIDL applications which contained false information to receive monies.
They also allegedly submitted falsified tax and wage documents to support these applications.

“Oloyede received $1.7 million, and Oluwasanmi received $1.2 million in SBA funds for their businesses.

“Oloyede obtained approximately $1.3 million through those applications, totaling at least $4.2 million obtained through the fraud,” the statement added.

Relevant US authorities are working with the FBI and the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, on the case.


Source: https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/smallbusiness/oba-joseph-oloyede-in-fbi-custody-over-4-2m-alleged-fraud/ar-AA1zfVc3

The Thailand police have arrested a Nigerian identified as Mbanaso for selling cocaine to a local tourist and now faces a jail term of up to two years.

This is just as another Nigerian identified simply as George was arrested for possession of cocaine substance and dangerous driving.

PUNCH Metro gathered from the website of a Thailand media, Khasod, on Wednesday, that the suspect was arrested following the arrest of a Swiss tourist who confessed that he purchased the drug from Mbanaso.

The report noted that following the Swiss confession on March 9, the police swooped on Mbanaso and arrested him near a local police station on Monday.

It read, “The tourist, identified only as Mr. Sascha, voluntarily entered drug rehabilitation and provided information to Kamala Police about his drug supplier.

“Sascha implicated a 32-year-old Nigerian national named Mbanaso, claiming he had purchased cocaine from him multiple times through WhatsApp, with payments made via bank transfers.

“On March 10, police conducted a sting operation and arrested Mbanaso at the entrance of Kamala Police Station at 9:40 p.m. with 0.82 grams of cocaine.”
The report noted that Mbanaso might be sentenced to two years imprisonment with an option of a fine or both.

“He faces charges of distributing Category 2 narcotics, which carries penalties of up to two years imprisonment, a fine not exceeding 40,000 baht or both,” the report noted.

On the arrest of George, the report highlighted that he and one other suspect were allegedly driving at top speed when police operatives tracked them to a location on Wednesday.

It noted that upon their arrest and subsequent investigation, the police discovered that George was an illegal resident who had overstayed his visa in the country and was on the wanted list for possession of cocaine.

It added that the suspect alongside his unidentified accomplice was allegedly intoxicated and uncooperative with the police at the time of their arrest.

It read, “On the night of March 11, Phuket City Police received reports of a Mazda car being driven recklessly, spinning in circles at traffic lights from Koh Kaew to Darasamut intersection. Thalang traffic officers pursued the vehicle but were initially unable to apprehend it as it sped along Chaloem Phra Kiat Rama 9 Bypass Road toward Central Junction.

“The suspects appeared intoxicated and were uncooperative, unable to communicate in English despite police using translation applications.

“One suspect was later identified as Mr George, a Nigerian national, wanted on an arrest warrant issued by the Phuket Provincial Court on August 21, 2023, for overstaying his visa and possession of Category 2 narcotics (cocaine),” the report noted.

Source: https://punchng.com/two-thailand-based-nigerians-arrested-for-cocaine-peddling/

BOSTON – A Nigerian man was arrested on Aug. 13, 2024 upon arriving at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City on charges that he, and others, conspired to fraudulently obtain at least $10 million in COVID-19 unemployment benefits.

Yomi Jones Olayeye, a/k/a “Sabbie,” 40, of Lagos, Nigeria, is charged with one count of wire fraud conspiracy, one count of wire fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft. He made an initial appearance in the Eastern District of New York on Aug. 14, 2024 and will appear in federal court in Boston tomorrow.

According to the charging document, between March and July 2020, Olayeye and others defrauded three pandemic assistance programs administrated by the Massachusetts Department of Unemployment Assistance and other states’ unemployment insurance agencies: traditional unemployment insurance (UI), Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) and Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC).

Specifically, Olayeye and his co-conspirators allegedly used personally identifiable information (PII) they purchased over criminal internet forums to apply for UI, PUA and FPUC – falsely representing themselves to be eligible state residents affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Olayeye and his co-conspirators allegedly used the same fraudulently obtained PII to open U.S. bank and prepaid debit card accounts to receive the assistance payments. It is also alleged that Olayeye and his co-conspirators recruited U.S.-based account holders to receive and transfer the fraud proceeds via cash transfer applications. Olayeye and his co-conspirators then allegedly used the fraudulent proceeds to purchase Bitcoin via online marketplaces. It is further alleged that Olayeye and his co-conspirators concealed the conspiracy’s connection to Nigeria by leasing Internet Protocol addresses assigned to computers located in the United States for use in the fraudulent transactions.

In total, Olayeye and his co-conspirators allegedly applied for at least $10 million in fraudulent UI, PUA and FPUC from Massachusetts, Hawaii, Indiana, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Montana, Maine, Ohio and Washington and received more than $1.5 million in assistance to which they were not entitled.

The charges of wire fraud and wire fraud conspiracy provide for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release, a fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss, forfeiture and restitution. The charge of aggravated identity theft calls for a mandatory minimum sentence of two years in prison to be added to any sentence imposed on the wire fraud charge. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.

Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy; Special Agent in Charge Andrew Murphy of the U.S. Secret Service Boston Field Office; Jonathan Mellone, Special Agent in Charge of the Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General; and Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Seth B. Kosto, Deputy Chief of the Securities, Financial & Cyber Fraud Unit is prosecuting the case.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-ma/pr/nigerian-man-arrested-alleged-10-million-pandemic-unemployment-assistance-fraud-scheme

Nigerian fraudster escapes UK deportation over healthcare concerns in Nigeria

A Nigerian fraudster who scammed women out of nearly £200,000 in an elaborate romance scheme has successfully avoided deportation after a tribunal ruled that his family’s health needs could not be adequately met in his home country.

Emmanuel Jack, 35, was sentenced to three years in prison in 2014 after deceiving six women he met on dating websites into transferring him a total of £186,000.

Posing as an architect, Jack preyed on vulnerable women, convincing them to send him large sums of money.


In 2022, eight years after his release from prison, the Home Office moved to deport Jack back to Nigeria, where he had lived until the age of 10 before relocating to the UK with his parents.

However, he challenged the deportation order, arguing that it violated his right to family life under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).

The Immigration and Asylum Tribunal in London ruled in his favor, concluding that deportation would be “unduly harsh” on his British wife and children, both of whom suffer from severe medical conditions requiring specialised care.

The judges determined that Nigeria was unlikely to provide the “bespoke” level of medical treatment currently available to Jack’s family under the NHS.

Court documents revealed that Jack’s case is one of many where foreign criminals have successfully resisted deportation by citing human rights protections.

The ruling comes amid a record backlog of 41,987 outstanding immigration appeals, the majority of which are based on human rights claims.

The backlog has surged by almost 500 percent since early 2022, posing a challenge to Labour’s pledge to expedite the removal of illegal migrants.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper is now considering restrictions to prevent foreign criminals and illegal migrants from using Article 8 of the ECHR to evade deportation.

Jack arrived in Britain in 1997 and was studying business at the University of Salford when he orchestrated his online frauds.


Using aliases such as John Creed, John Windsor, and Johnnie Carlo Rissi, he targeted women under false pretenses, persuading them to send him money.

He was arrested, convicted, and jailed in March 2014. Before his conviction, Jack had successfully applied for British citizenship, which the Home Office later revoked.

In November 2022, he was formally notified of his deportation order.

Following his release from prison, Jack married a British woman and fathered two children.

The tribunal—comprising judges Victor Rae-Reeves and Luke Bulpitt—was informed of the severe health challenges facing his family.

His youngest child, an 18-month-old born prematurely, has significant developmental issues and requires continuous medical supervision and specialist NHS care. His six-year-old daughter also has vision impairments.

The tribunal ruled that deporting Jack’s family would cause excessive hardship.

“Moving to Nigeria would significantly disrupt that care, frustrate ongoing investigations and end the consistency of care that they have each been receiving to date. We consider that even if treatment is available, it is considerably harder to get treatment for all three of them in the same location,” the ruling stated as quoted by the Telegraph UK.

It further emphasised Jack’s essential role in his children’s lives, describing him as a “loving and very hands-on father” whose absence would negatively impact their well-being.

“We find that [Mr Jack] helps both children with their medical needs and therapies and his absence would potentially have a deleterious effect on their health because of the limitations that [his wife] may face in fulfilling such practical tasks,” the tribunal noted.

“We conclude that, given the extremely close relationships that, in these particular circumstances [Mr Jack] shares with [his family], [his] separation from the family as a result of deportation would have a very great emotional and psychological impact on them which goes far beyond the impact that might be experienced where there is not such a close and unbroken shared history.”

Responding to the ruling, a Home Office spokesperson said: “We strongly believed this individual, with a criminal conviction of fraud, should not remain in the UK, which is why deportation efforts were clearly made, and this case was contested in court.

“Foreign nationals who commit heinous crimes should be in no doubt that we will do everything to make sure they are not free on Britain’s streets, including removal from the UK at the earliest possible opportunity.

“Since the election we’ve removed 2,925 foreign criminals, a 21% increase on the same period 12 months prior.”





Source: https://www.vanguardngr.com/2025/03/nigerian-fraudster-escapes-uk-deportation-over-healthcare-concerns-in-nigeria/#google_vignette

Secret filming reveals brazen tactics of UK immigration scammers
3 days ago
Tamasin Ford
BBC Global Disinformation Unit and Africa Eye

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0:44
Undercover footage shows Dr Kelvin Alaneme explaining how he sells UK jobs to foreign nationals
Recruitment agents who scam foreign nationals applying to work in the UK care sector have been exposed by BBC secret filming.

One of the rogue agents is a Nigerian doctor who has worked for the NHS in the field of psychiatry.

The Home Office has acknowledged the system is open to abuse, but the BBC World Service's investigation shows the apparent ease with which these agents can scam people, avoid detection, and continue to profit.

Our secret filming reveals agents' tactics, including:

Illegally selling jobs in UK care companies
Devising fake payroll schemes to conceal that some jobs do not exist
Shifting from care to other sectors, like construction, that also face staff shortages
Reports of immigration scams have increased since a government visa scheme - originally designed to let foreign medical professionals work in the UK - was broadened in 2022 to include care workers.

To apply for the visa, candidates must first obtain a "Certificate of Sponsorship" (CoS) from a UK employer who is licensed by the Home Office. It is the need for CoS documents that is being exploited by rogue relocation agents.

"The scale of exploitation under the Health and Care Work visa is significant," says Dora-Olivia Vicol, CEO of Work Rights Centre, a charity that helps migrants and disadvantaged people in the UK access employment justice.

"I think it has turned into a national crisis."

She says there is "systemic risk inherent" in the sponsorship system, because it "puts the employer in a position of incredible power" and has "enabled this predatory market of middlemen to mushroom".

The BBC sent two undercover journalists to approach relocation agents working in the UK.

One met Dr Kelvin Alaneme, a Nigerian doctor and founder of the agency, CareerEdu, based in Harlow, Essex.

His website states his business is a "launchpad for global opportunities catering to young Africans", claiming to have 9,800 "happy clients".

Believing the BBC undercover journalist was well connected in the UK care sector, Dr Alaneme tried to recruit her to become an agent for his business, saying it would be very lucrative.

"Just get me care homes. I can make you a millionaire," he said.

As a potential business partner, our journalist was then given unprecedented insight into how immigration scams by agents like Dr Alaneme actually work. Dr Alaneme said he would pay £2,000 ($2,600) for each care home vacancy she was able to procure, and offered £500 ($650) commission on top.

He then said he would sell the vacancies to candidates back in Nigeria.

Charging candidates for a job is illegal in the UK.

"They [the candidates] are not supposed to be paying because it's free. It should be free," he said, lowering his voice.

"They are paying because they know it's most likely the only way."

The BBC began investigating him following a series of online complaints about his relocation services.

Praise - from south-east Nigeria and in his mid 30s - was one of those who complained, claiming he paid Dr Alaneme more than £10,000 ($13,000) for a job in the UK. He says he was told he was going to be working with a care company called Efficiency for Care, based in Clacton-on-Sea. It was only when he arrived that he realised the job didn't exist.

Praise a Nigerian man in his mid 30s, wearing a black beanie, navy coat and black scarf at the sea front in Clacton-on-Sea.
Praise says he paid Dr Alaneme more than £10,000 for a job in the UK
"If I had known there was no job, I would have not come here," he says. "At least back home in Nigeria, if you go broke, I can find my sister or my parents and go and eat free food. It's not the same here. You will go hungry."

Praise says he messaged Efficiency for Care and Dr Alaneme for months, asking when he could start working. Despite promises of assistance from Dr Alaneme, the job never materialised. Almost a year later, he found a position with another care provider willing to sponsor him to remain in the UK.

Our investigation found that Efficiency for Care employed - on average - 16 people in 2022, and 152 in 2023. Yet a letter sent from the Home Office to the company dated May 2023 - and seen by the BBC - showed it had issued 1,234 Certificates of Sponsorship to foreign workers between March 2022 and May 2023.

Efficiency for Care's sponsorship licence was revoked in July 2023. The care company can no longer recruit from abroad, but continues to operate.

It told the BBC it strongly refutes the allegation it colluded with Dr Alaneme. It said it believed it lawfully recruited staff from Nigeria and other countries. It has challenged the Home Office's revocation of its sponsorship licence, it said, and the matter is now in court.

Outside of the UK - watch on YouTube
In another secretly filmed meeting, Dr Alaneme shared an even more sophisticated scam involving sponsorship documents for jobs that did not exist.

He said the "advantage" of having a CoS that is unconnected to a job "is that you can choose any city you want".

"You can go to Glasgow. You can stay in London. You can live anywhere," he told us.

This is not true. If a migrant arrives in the UK on a Health and Care Work visa and does not work in the role they have been assigned, their visa could be cancelled and they risk being deported.

In the secret filming, Dr Alaneme also described how to set up a fake payroll system to mask the fact the jobs are not real.

"That [a money trail] is what the government needs to see," he said.

Dr Alaneme told the BBC he strenuously denied services offered by CareerEdu were a scam or that it acted as a recruitment agency or provided jobs for cash. He said his company only offered legitimate services, adding that the money Praise gave him was passed on to a recruitment agent for Praise's transport, accommodation and training. He said he offered to help Praise find another employer free of charge.

The BBC also carried out undercover filming with another UK-based recruitment agent, Nana Akwasi Agyemang-Prempeh, after several people told the BBC they had collectively paid tens of thousands of pounds for care worker positions for their friends and family that, it transpired, did not exist.

They said some of the Certificates of Sponsorship Mr Agyemang-Prempeh gave them had turned out to be fakes - replicas of real CoS issued by care companies.

A lady with a light blue top and dark hair tied back in corn rows speaks to the reporter, with light grey curtains in the background
This woman says she introduced friends and family to Mr Akwasi Agyemang-Prempeh, who collectively paid £35,000 for relocation packages and they were given CoS that turned out to be fake
We discovered Mr Agyemang-Prempeh had then begun offering CoS for UK jobs in construction - another industry that allows employers to recruit foreign workers. He was able to set up his own construction company and obtain a sponsorship licence from the Home Office.

Our journalist, posing as a UK-based Ugandan businessman wanting to bring Ugandan construction workers over to join him, asked Mr Agyemang-Prempeh if this was possible.

He replied it was - for the price of £42,000 ($54,000) for three people.

Mr Agyemang-Prempeh told us he had moved into construction because rules are being "tightened" in the care sector - and claimed agents were eyeing other industries.

"People are now diverting to IT," Mr Agyemang-Prempeh told the undercover journalist.

Nana Akwasi Agyemang-Prempeh wearing a navy parka coat with a fur collar, holds his phone in a coffee shop.
UK-based recruitment agent Nana Akwasi Agyemang-Prempeh has pivoted into the construction sector
More than 470 licences in the UK care sector were revoked by the government between July 2022 and December 2024. Those licensed sponsors were responsible for the recruitment of more than 39,000 medical professionals and care workers from October 2020.

Mr Agyemang-Prempeh later asked for a downpayment for the Certificates of Sponsorship, which the BBC did not make.

The Home Office has now revoked his sponsorship licence. Mr Agyemang-Prempeh's defence, when challenged by the BBC, was that he had himself been duped by other agents and did not realise he was selling fake CoS documents.

In a statement to the BBC, the Home Office said it has "robust new action against shameless employers who abuse the visa system" and will "ban businesses who flout UK employment laws from sponsoring overseas workers".

BBC investigations have previously uncovered similar visa scams targeting people in Kerala, India, and international students living in the UK who want to work in the care sector.

In November 2024, the government announced a clampdown on "rogue" employers hiring workers from overseas. Additionally, from 9 April, care providers in England will be required to prioritise recruiting international care workers already in the UK before recruiting from overseas.

Investigation team: Olaronke Alo, Chiagozie Nwonwu, Sucheera Maguire, Nyasha Michelle, and Chiara Francavilla

Source: Secret filming reveals brazen tactics of UK immigration scammers
3 days ago
Tamasin Ford
BBC Global Disinformation Unit and Africa Eye

Share

Save


0:44
Undercover footage shows Dr Kelvin Alaneme explaining how he sells UK jobs to foreign nationals
Recruitment agents who scam foreign nationals applying to work in the UK care sector have been exposed by BBC secret filming.

One of the rogue agents is a Nigerian doctor who has worked for the NHS in the field of psychiatry.

The Home Office has acknowledged the system is open to abuse, but the BBC World Service's investigation shows the apparent ease with which these agents can scam people, avoid detection, and continue to profit.

Our secret filming reveals agents' tactics, including:

Illegally selling jobs in UK care companies
Devising fake payroll schemes to conceal that some jobs do not exist
Shifting from care to other sectors, like construction, that also face staff shortages
Reports of immigration scams have increased since a government visa scheme - originally designed to let foreign medical professionals work in the UK - was broadened in 2022 to include care workers.

To apply for the visa, candidates must first obtain a "Certificate of Sponsorship" (CoS) from a UK employer who is licensed by the Home Office. It is the need for CoS documents that is being exploited by rogue relocation agents.

"The scale of exploitation under the Health and Care Work visa is significant," says Dora-Olivia Vicol, CEO of Work Rights Centre, a charity that helps migrants and disadvantaged people in the UK access employment justice.

"I think it has turned into a national crisis."

She says there is "systemic risk inherent" in the sponsorship system, because it "puts the employer in a position of incredible power" and has "enabled this predatory market of middlemen to mushroom".

The BBC sent two undercover journalists to approach relocation agents working in the UK.

One met Dr Kelvin Alaneme, a Nigerian doctor and founder of the agency, CareerEdu, based in Harlow, Essex.

His website states his business is a "launchpad for global opportunities catering to young Africans", claiming to have 9,800 "happy clients".

Believing the BBC undercover journalist was well connected in the UK care sector, Dr Alaneme tried to recruit her to become an agent for his business, saying it would be very lucrative.

"Just get me care homes. I can make you a millionaire," he said.

As a potential business partner, our journalist was then given unprecedented insight into how immigration scams by agents like Dr Alaneme actually work. Dr Alaneme said he would pay £2,000 ($2,600) for each care home vacancy she was able to procure, and offered £500 ($650) commission on top.

He then said he would sell the vacancies to candidates back in Nigeria.

Charging candidates for a job is illegal in the UK.

"They [the candidates] are not supposed to be paying because it's free. It should be free," he said, lowering his voice.

"They are paying because they know it's most likely the only way."

The BBC began investigating him following a series of online complaints about his relocation services.

Praise - from south-east Nigeria and in his mid 30s - was one of those who complained, claiming he paid Dr Alaneme more than £10,000 ($13,000) for a job in the UK. He says he was told he was going to be working with a care company called Efficiency for Care, based in Clacton-on-Sea. It was only when he arrived that he realised the job didn't exist.

Praise a Nigerian man in his mid 30s, wearing a black beanie, navy coat and black scarf at the sea front in Clacton-on-Sea.
Praise says he paid Dr Alaneme more than £10,000 for a job in the UK
"If I had known there was no job, I would have not come here," he says. "At least back home in Nigeria, if you go broke, I can find my sister or my parents and go and eat free food. It's not the same here. You will go hungry."

Praise says he messaged Efficiency for Care and Dr Alaneme for months, asking when he could start working. Despite promises of assistance from Dr Alaneme, the job never materialised. Almost a year later, he found a position with another care provider willing to sponsor him to remain in the UK.

Our investigation found that Efficiency for Care employed - on average - 16 people in 2022, and 152 in 2023. Yet a letter sent from the Home Office to the company dated May 2023 - and seen by the BBC - showed it had issued 1,234 Certificates of Sponsorship to foreign workers between March 2022 and May 2023.

Efficiency for Care's sponsorship licence was revoked in July 2023. The care company can no longer recruit from abroad, but continues to operate.

It told the BBC it strongly refutes the allegation it colluded with Dr Alaneme. It said it believed it lawfully recruited staff from Nigeria and other countries. It has challenged the Home Office's revocation of its sponsorship licence, it said, and the matter is now in court.

Outside of the UK - watch on YouTube
In another secretly filmed meeting, Dr Alaneme shared an even more sophisticated scam involving sponsorship documents for jobs that did not exist.

He said the "advantage" of having a CoS that is unconnected to a job "is that you can choose any city you want".

"You can go to Glasgow. You can stay in London. You can live anywhere," he told us.

This is not true. If a migrant arrives in the UK on a Health and Care Work visa and does not work in the role they have been assigned, their visa could be cancelled and they risk being deported.

In the secret filming, Dr Alaneme also described how to set up a fake payroll system to mask the fact the jobs are not real.

"That [a money trail] is what the government needs to see," he said.

Dr Alaneme told the BBC he strenuously denied services offered by CareerEdu were a scam or that it acted as a recruitment agency or provided jobs for cash. He said his company only offered legitimate services, adding that the money Praise gave him was passed on to a recruitment agent for Praise's transport, accommodation and training. He said he offered to help Praise find another employer free of charge.

The BBC also carried out undercover filming with another UK-based recruitment agent, Nana Akwasi Agyemang-Prempeh, after several people told the BBC they had collectively paid tens of thousands of pounds for care worker positions for their friends and family that, it transpired, did not exist.

They said some of the Certificates of Sponsorship Mr Agyemang-Prempeh gave them had turned out to be fakes - replicas of real CoS issued by care companies.

A lady with a light blue top and dark hair tied back in corn rows speaks to the reporter, with light grey curtains in the background
This woman says she introduced friends and family to Mr Akwasi Agyemang-Prempeh, who collectively paid £35,000 for relocation packages and they were given CoS that turned out to be fake
We discovered Mr Agyemang-Prempeh had then begun offering CoS for UK jobs in construction - another industry that allows employers to recruit foreign workers. He was able to set up his own construction company and obtain a sponsorship licence from the Home Office.

Our journalist, posing as a UK-based Ugandan businessman wanting to bring Ugandan construction workers over to join him, asked Mr Agyemang-Prempeh if this was possible.

He replied it was - for the price of £42,000 ($54,000) for three people.

Mr Agyemang-Prempeh told us he had moved into construction because rules are being "tightened" in the care sector - and claimed agents were eyeing other industries.

"People are now diverting to IT," Mr Agyemang-Prempeh told the undercover journalist.

Nana Akwasi Agyemang-Prempeh wearing a navy parka coat with a fur collar, holds his phone in a coffee shop.
UK-based recruitment agent Nana Akwasi Agyemang-Prempeh has pivoted into the construction sector
More than 470 licences in the UK care sector were revoked by the government between July 2022 and December 2024. Those licensed sponsors were responsible for the recruitment of more than 39,000 medical professionals and care workers from October 2020.

Mr Agyemang-Prempeh later asked for a downpayment for the Certificates of Sponsorship, which the BBC did not make.

The Home Office has now revoked his sponsorship licence. Mr Agyemang-Prempeh's defence, when challenged by the BBC, was that he had himself been duped by other agents and did not realise he was selling fake CoS documents.

In a statement to the BBC, the Home Office said it has "robust new action against shameless employers who abuse the visa system" and will "ban businesses who flout UK employment laws from sponsoring overseas workers".

BBC investigations have previously uncovered similar visa scams targeting people in Kerala, India, and international students living in the UK who want to work in the care sector.

In November 2024, the government announced a clampdown on "rogue" employers hiring workers from overseas. Additionally, from 9 April, care providers in England will be required to prioritise recruiting international care workers already in the UK before recruiting from overseas.

Investigation team: Olaronke Alo, Chiagozie Nwonwu, Sucheera Maguire, Nyasha Michelle, and Chiara Francavilla

UK Visas
Home Office
Healthcare

Oya continue
one bobo wey collect $50000 from baller dey cry

Is bad

Good one, we need more of this message on this forum and other Nigerian platforms.


But then, this is why we are criticizing the corrupt government of Bola Tinubu that have made life so difficult for young people in Nigeria. If Tinubu was working and not focused on stealing, enriching his ethnic men and political allies, the economy would have been good and there would have been jobs for people and legitimate businesses will thrive and Nigerians wouldn't be pushed into crime out of unemployment, underemployment and bad economy

Problem is in Nigeria you are only a thief, a fraudster and a drug peddler when you are caught. As long as you are not caught you are not a thief, neither are you a fraud or a drug peddler. And those who identified you as any of this will be recognized as bad belle people.
But immediately they catch you those celebrating you will deny you immediately.

One by One the law will catch up with all of them

Love the idea. I hope this touches someone.

Na wah

W

Ok

Fo.olish OP!
Why waste Space for space bookers?
Sell the remaining one. Mugu.

You think does who commit crimes dont know all these?

It is the greed in them that will not allow them reason rationally.

Whom the gods want to destroy, they first make him an idiot, and he will ultimately destroy himself with his foolish actions.

We also need a country where ordinary hard work can give you the basics of life

Apart from major cities like Lagos, PH, Ibadan, most other places in Nigeria are almost barren and working hard in those places may guarantee you almost nothing

After working for 10 years you may discover you are still not above to afford to buy your own car talk less of start building

Good advice though but if you like talk am till tomorrow. As long as this country remain like this, those who do fraud go do and those who go join go still join.
That's the fact I'm not encouraging anyone to engage in such act.

Apetu's case is a testament to the fact that the greedy chiefs now choose most traditional kings and not Ifa. Ifa should know better.

They go after pockets and not dignity. Shame to them all.

Why do they always have questionable king's in SW ? Why do they allow riff raffs to always rule them....? An Oba in Osun State in custody

atoliman:
Many Yahoo boys are very smart, many drug peddlers are naturally very good businessman but they choose to go the wrong route.

With the arrest of Hushpuppi and many others who are getting arrested and flow back to USA to face sentences and lengthy prison time.

One Oba from Osun State is currently in jail awaiting trial.

Please do legit hustle, you are already brilliant why not apply your mind to legit work or hustle. It may not be easy at the beginning, but the reward will come.

Do you want to spend time in prison, and you cannot even visit your aging parents because you are being locked up.

Do not think you cannot be caught; many get caught not immediately but later in years and the least time they expect and spend decades in prison. They miss their children's birthdays, weddings, graduation and parents' burial and so forth.

Finally, they get deported with nothing to show for or die in prison. Do not spend time in US prison or foreign prison where homosexual sex is rampant, or you cannot even get a hug or kiss from a woman.

Some of drug peddlers are being executed in Saudi Arabia or those no-nonsense Asian countries- why smuggling drugs when you might get caught and get killed by the authority in those countries.

Why rob a bank or kidnap somebody with blood on your hands- you are mostly likely to get into a gunfight with soldiers and policemen one of these days. Even if you get Scot free, you now have children, someone might kidnap your children because you did the same to other people children.

Do legit hustle, be fair and be honest in your dealings.

Bros, I do not support illegal stuffs. I do not support criminality of any kind.

Take a look at your country. Take a look at those worshipped in your country. Take a look at those in government: from the first to the least. What do you see?
Honesty?
Competence?
Integrity?
High morality?
Accountability?
Transparency?
What do you see?

Who among those government in Nigeria currently would you want or encourage the youth to emulate for a better, progressive, just, fair, honest, love-filled, transparent, least corrupt society?

You can never have bad leadership and expect good followers. We are yet to understand the impact of leadership on a people.

Let them continue to flaunt their ill-gotten wealth online, it makes it easier to identify them

He who has ear should listen.

A dog that will get lost, would turn deaf ears to the hunter's whistle! Life is not all about materialism.