Bank scam means prison for Nigerian man living in Fall River

A Nigerian national living in Fall River was sentenced Thursday to 27 months in federal prison and three years supervised probation on bank, check, mail and passport fraud charges. Damilola Oke, 34, who also used several aliases, ran a bogus check and money order scam through the mail. Oke pleaded guilty in January to the charges contained in a 35-count indictment. U.S. Attorney Peter F. Neronha announced the sentence that was imposed by U.S. District Court Chief Judge Mary M. Lisi. "Cases like this are stark reminders to be particularly cautious when receiving unsolicited offers of payment for services where others stand to profit,” Neronha said. "They likely involve some kind of illegal activity. From March 19 to July 7, 2008, Oke defrauded a local bank by opening accounts using the alias Charles Mensah on one bank account and the alias Victor Alliu on another account. He deposited counterfeit checks into those accounts and then withdrew funds from the bank. Citizens Bank lost $12,897 through one account and $10,012 from another. On Feb. 25, 2009, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service found a package addressed to Rick Morris, c/o Damilola Oke. The package contained 835 counterfeit postal money orders, totaling $652,043. Posted in: Check Fraud