FBI: Nigerian Fraud Ring Milking Banks

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The FBI is gunning for Tobe Onwuhara, who they say bilked banks out of at least $44 million.

The FBI says it is investigating a group of Nigerians who are accused of using online internet databases to steal victims' identities to the tune of $44 million.

Authorities say they are currently focusing all of their manpower on the group's top dog -- Tobechi "Tobe" Onwuhara.

Agents say Onwuhara is the mastermind behind the scheme, and they say they won't stop tracking him until he is in handcuffs.

According to the FBI, Onwuhara and his accomplices were somehow able to gain access to victims’ personal information through a database -- specifically the victims' Home Equity Line of Credit accounts. Once inside, they were able to wire the money to accounts mainly located overseas, but some inside the U.S.

Authorities say the group has been operating for approximately three years, and they're accused of causing tens of millions in losses to banks and homeowners.

An Accused Con Man's Checkered Past

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The FBI says Tobechi Onwuhara is part of a group of Nigerians who they say are using online internet databases to steal victims' identities to the tune of $44 million.

According to the FBI, Onwuhara is a Nigerian who they believe entered the U.S. some time in 1999 or 2000, on a student visa.

Cops say Onwuhara had high aspirations for himself, but his thirst for knowledge extended beyond the university's halls of learning -- and they didn't involve getting a degree from a prestigious school.

Cops say Onwuhara's schemes came from hard work and garnered him millions of dollars. Investigators say he literally researched and tested his schemes until he was successful.

Agents say Onwuhara is a very smart and crafty man whose only skill was defrauding people -- something police say Onwuhara has been doing for years.

The Life of A Playboy

Investigators say Onwuhara moved around, from Seattle, Wash., where he lived for a short time, and Houston, Texas.

Officials say Onwuhara finally settled on two places -- Miami and Dallas -- were he divided his time.  In Miami, Onwuhara kicked back in his $600,000 home, while cops say Dallas was a playland where he lived the life of a multi-millionaire playboy and businessman, renting a condo for $4,000 a month.

While agents describe Onwuhara as a quiet guy, they say he craved the spotlight and let his money do his talking for him.

Investigators say Onwuhara loved "making it rain" -- throwing fistfuls of cash up in the air -- in one of his favorite spots, a local strip club. There, he and associates would not only make it rain, according to agents, they made it thunderstorm.

On a thunderstorm night, Onwuhara could easily drop $50,000, cops say.

Agents say his desires didn't stop with cash and women. Investigators say Onwuhara loved luxury automobiles -- a Maserati, a Bentley, a Rolls-Royce Phantom -- and worked as a car salesman to indulge his passion.

Once in his possession, agents say Onwuhara would ship the cars to Nigeria to be sold.

According to agents, Onwuhara was so confident in his skills and scams that he never believed they could be traced directly back to him. Investigators say the only paper trail Onwuhara left behind lead directly back to close associates -- or so he thought. While Onwuhara thought he was smart, agents say they were smarter, and were able to unravel his alleged scams in precise detail.

With the money he generated from his illegal activities, they say Onwuhara started his own hip-hop label, called S.W.A.T. Up Entertainment. He even signed two artists to the label, and cops say Onwuhara owned a recording studio at one point.

But cops say Onwuhara's foray into the record business was just a dalliance. He made his real money through his many scams -- ultimately scamming banks out of $44 million.

Investigators are now hunting Onwuhara and say he could be hiding out in Dallas, Miami, Atlanta, New Jersey, or Canada.

If you have information on the whereabouts of Tobechi "Tobe" Onwuhara, call our hotline at 1-800-CRIME-TV.

-- by Denni Michael Wagner, AMW Staff