Nigerian Fraudster Could Be In Your Community

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Authorities believe Heather Uboh may have had help to pull off her elaborate identity schemes.

Police know very little about Heather Uboh, but a lot about her alleged crimes.

The Nigerian has apparently committed credit card and passport fraud, larceny, identity theft and other crimes in New York, New Jersey, Michigan, Georgia, Colorado and Texas, scamming banks, brokerage houses and individual citizens.

Her estimated take: more than $1 million.

But because she uses so many aliases -- including Heather Cole, Nwaobi Igweh, Lindsey Scruggs, Adessa Hines and Lana Miller -- she's managed to remain evasive.

"Because of all her names and Social Security numbers, we don't really know who she is," concedes Deputy U.S. Marshal Craig Caine.

A Chain of Lies

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Heather Uboh has allegedly used over 20 different identities.

When police in Troy, Mich. first encountered the suspect in 1996, they claim that she'd been using fraudulent New Jersey driver's licenses to identify herself as she shuttled from bank to bank, receiving cash advances on the credit cards she presented.

According to the FBI, once the banks became aware of her alleged pattern, she moved on to brokerage firms, where she opened accounts under a variety of names.  Then, authorities say, she presented checks stolen from a large postal facility in Newark, N.J.

"What this tells us is she's had help," notes FBI Agent Dan Quinn.

Often, the checks came from large corporations, but had been altered so payment would be made to her multiple pseudonyms, cops say.

The proceeds were then wired to accounts in Nigeria, investigators tell AMW.

Even when law enforcement managed to catch up to the suspect, she'd make bail, then disappear before her fingerprints could be matched up with those left behind at prior crime scenes, cops say.

Feds: You Could Be Uboh's Next Victim

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Police say Heather Uboh a threat to any community she visits.

Police believe that several of the suspect's aliases are actually the names of people whose identities she stole. 

And, despite her African roots, law enforcement is convinced that she's reaping too much on U.S. soil to return to Nigeria.

In the meantime, investigators characterize Uboh as a threat to any community she visits.

Cautions Deputy U.S. Marshal Howard Turner, "She could be scamming you next."

AMW Capture #1091

AMW.com Captures Alleged International Scam Artist

Heather Uboh is accused of credit card and passport fraud, larceny, identity theft and other crimes in New York, New Jersey, Michigan, Georgia, Colorado and Texas, in a spree where cops say she scammed banks, brokerage houses and individuals.

Her take is estimated at more than $1 million.

Because she allegedly used so many identities, authorities were unsure of Uboh's real name.

But once her face appeared on AMW on November 15, 2008, her world became much smaller.

Our hotline received an anonymous call from a viewer claiming that Uboh was innocent, and urged AMW producers to contact her to prove it.

Listed in the tip were the suspect's phone number and e-mail address in Nigeria. Marshals called and Uboh answered.

There, Uboh had found a corporate job, and she claimed to have turned her life around. With her business acumen, her Nigerian employer regarded her a rising star in the company.

However, once it became known that she'd been on America's Most Wanted, her boss was reticent about awarding her with a promised promotion.

Heather contacted a U.S. Embassy, and agreed to return to American soil to clear her name.

She'd been scheduled to land at JFK Airport on Monday, October 19, 2009 and face a judge on Long Island.

But she apparently missed her flight, and arrived in Atlanta instead. Since there was also a warrant for Uboh in Georgia, U.S. Marshals arrested her when she disembarked.

Craig Caine, a criminal investigator for the U.S. Marshals, is certain that without AMW, Uboh would still be at large.

"It's really amazing," Caine said. "America's Most Wanted can find anyone in the world.