Nigerian Couple Arrested for Allegedly Stealing $38,000 from Owners of a Baseball Team in US (Photo)
Luck has ran out on an alleged Nigerian couple after they were arrested and charged with stealing thousands of dollars from owners of a US baseball team.
A Nigerian couple identified as Madoussou Odebode and her husband, Oluwatomiwa Odebode have been arrested and charged by Harris County authorities in Florida for allegedly stealing over $38,000 from one of the owners of the Tampa Bay Rays baseball team.
According to a report by NewsFix, a judge charged both, with third-degree felony theft. The Odebodes are accused of redirecting bank wiring instructions from Randy Frankel, a St. Petersburg, Florida man who is part-owner of the Rays.
Authorities say the Texas couple used an email fraud technique known as ‘whaling’ to intercept account instructions and divert funds to Madoussou Odebode’s personal bank account in Cypress.
The complex scheme sounds like something out of a James Bond film with funds being manipulated not just across state lines but with international ties, too.
Investigators say the original IP address of the email account intercepting the funds belongs to a computer in Nigeria.
The couple’s bonds are set at $2,500 each and their next court appearance will be in December.