A self-styled entrepreneur, Ehonre Oluwaseun, popularly known as Classic Baggie, has been indicted for cyber fraud in the United States.

He was indicted last year by a US district court in Delaware, in a case involving his US-based partner, Olugbenga Lawal, who has been sentenced to 10 years and one month in prison for money laundering involving the proceeds of internet fraud schemes.

Mr Lawal was also ordered to pay $1.4 million ($1,460,875) in restitution to victims of the fraud schemes.

The schemes were orchestrated by an international criminal organisation known as the Miami Crew, led by Classic Baggie, who was residing in Lagos and celebrated as a philanthropist in Nigeria at the time.

However, while Mr Lawal’s sentencing got widespread media coverage, Mr Oluwaseun’s indictment did not get any attention. PREMIUM TIMES has now obtained court documents that confirmed Mr Oluwaseun’s role in the scams.

Between 2019 to 2020, Mr Lawal and other crew members were accused of stealing millions of dollars and laundering millions of dollars in proceeds.

According to the court documents recently obtained by PREMIUM TIMES, the crew led by Classic Baggie was involved in Business Email Compromise (BEC) or romance fraud.

Business Email Compromise (BEC) fraud is a type of cybercrime where attackers use spoofed or hacked email accounts to trick employees into transferring money or sensitive information to fraudulent accounts.

The court also identified other crew members as Rita Assane and Dwight Baines, both US citizens based in Florida, and Michael Hermann, an Ivory Coast citizen based in Florida.

Together with Mr Lawal, the US-based Miami crew members were spoofing multiple business emails, fraudulently redirecting funds to their bank accounts, and stealing from individuals through an online romance scam.

Proceeds from their fraudulent activities were sent to Mr Lawal, who also acted as a “money mule” by “illegally transferring the money” to Mr Oluwaseun in Nigeria.

“The Miami Crew would send Lawal illicit proceeds from these fraud schemes at the instruction of Classic Baggie, who referred to Mr Lawal as his partner in the romance fraud thing.

“Fraud victims sometimes directly sent money to Lawal, and the evidence reflected that Lawal had direct knowledge of these deposits.

“After receipt, Lawal would help repatriate the money back to Nigeria through currency transactions and by purchasing cars in the United States and shipping the cars to Nigeria,” the court document read.

Celebrated in Nigeria

Meanwhile, in Nigeria, Mr Oluwaseun was regarded as a serial entrepreneur with investments in real estate, entertainment and car dealerships.

Multiple news platforms have reported  Classic Baggie to be known for his philanthropic nature and “his consistent willingness to give back to society.”

“He is a serial entrepreneur and is often regarded as one of the youngest business entrepreneurs in Nigeria,” this report about him reads.

Premium Times