A 34-year-old Nigerian man, Joseph Dada Akintoye, has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for scamming elderly victims of thousands of dollars reports Marietta Daily Journal. He was convicted on Wednesday, 29th of April, 2015 of 15 charges, according to the Cobb District Attorney’s Office. The charges include theft by taking, theft by deception, racketeering, money laundering and exploitation of the elderly. The jail records put Akintoye’s local address in Acworth but he was arrested by the Cobb Sheriff’s Office in Jacksonville, Florida in January.
Akintoye has been accused of being part of a group that called individuals or sent them messages online instructing them to wire money into accounts that he actually controlled says Kim Isaza, the spokesperson for the DA’s office. Isaza narrated that some of the victims were told the caller was a grandchild in jail in another state who needed money for bail in a scheme that has been described as the ‘grandfather scam’.
In 2013, three victims in other states wired about $50,000 into an account of a woman in Marietta, whom Akintoye was working with to launder the money. Isaza said hundreds of thousands of dollars transferred through the woman’s accounts from other unidentified victims with the majority of the money wired out to Nigeria and Malaysia and some to Akintoye’s personal account in Jacksonville.
Assistant District Attorney Jason Marbutt, who prosecuted the case and specializes in crimes against the elderly said:
“There is evil in this world that is apparent to all, such as a murder. But there is another kind of evil that lurks in the shadows and remains hidden. It preys on our most vulnerable citizens, taking advantage of their loneliness and their embarrassment at being taken. This is not just about the theft of money. It’s about the tip of the iceberg he represents.”
Cobb Superior Court Judge Adele Grubbs sentenced Akintoye to 20 years in prison, but ruled that the last three years of the sentence will be suspended if he pays $35,000 in restitution within one year. Judge Grubbs also fined Akintoye the sum of $50,000 for being one of the ring leaders of the scam against the elderly. Grubbs said:
“This is absolutely racketeering. He’s one of the kingpins, and he should pay. He’s come in this country, and he’s used this country. He’s contributed nothing.”
The case was investigated by the Cobb Sheriff’s Office.
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