United States Attorney Leura G. Canary Middle District of Alabama

FORMER NIGERIAN TROY UNIVERSITY STUDENT FOUND GUILTY IN NIGERIAN FRAUD CONSPIRACY

MONTGOMERY, Ala.—A former Nigerian Troy University student, Bankole Babajide Balogun, was found guilty of bank fraud and conspiracy to commit bank, wire, and mail fraud, U.S. Attorney Leura G. Canary announced today.

Balogun is the first defendant to stand trial in the multi-defendant, nine count indictment, which charges a number of Nigerian students at Troy University and several American nationals from Troy with various fraud and fraud-related charges, including conspiring to commit mail, wire, and bank fraud.

As part of the conspiracy charge, several students are charged with obtaining counterfeit, stolen, altered, or forged checks, often through the use of stolen mail and credit card account numbers. On other occasions, the students are alleged to have used stolen mail and credit card numbers to conduct fraudulent wire transfers.

This indictment charges that, in furtherance of the scheme, others were recruited to open bank accounts. These accounts were allegedly used to deposit the checks and wire transfers-- which had been diverted from or made on compromised credit card accounts--in Alabama or Georgia or to receive mail and merchandise on behalf of the conspiracy.

After a three-day trial, which began on Wednesday, September 19, 2007, before U.S. District Judge Myron H. Thompson, a jury found Balogun guilty of one count of conspiring to commit mail, bank and wire fraud and one count of bank fraud. The bank fraud involved the depositing of a counterfeit check in the approximate amount of $5,000.

Balogun faces a maximum sentence of up to 30 years imprisonment and a fine of $1,000,000. Balogun’s sentencing is set for December 3, 2007, before Judge Thompson. The remaining defendants are scheduled to stand trial in December 2007.

This matter was jointly investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the Troy Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Christopher A. Snyder and Stephen P. Feaga.