A Nigerian national who headed a multi-national identity theft and fraud ring, which involved stealing money from home equity lines of credit accounts, was sentenced to 69 months in prison.
Hakeem Olokodana, 43, a leading member of an international identity theft ring that operated out of U.S., U.K., Canada, China, Japan, Vietnam, South Korea and several other countries, was ordered to pay almost $3 million in restitution.
The operation focused on withdrawing money from HELOC accounts using the stolen identities of thousands of victims.
Those bilked include customers at several mortgage firms, including Bank of America, Chase, Citibank, Navy Federal Credit Union, and State Department Federal Credit Union.
The stolen account information included customer names, addresses, dates of birth, Social Security numbers, account numbers and balances.
In some cases, sensitive information such as a mother's maiden name, security questions and answers or online banking user names and passwords also was compromised.
Members of the ring impersonated credit union and bank customers over the phone, using caller ID spoofing and modified customers' addresses on bank records.
A significant portion of the illegal proceeds was sent abroad to members of the gang located in countries such as Japan, Nigeria, Canada, South Korea and others.
Olokodana was sentenced right before the start of the holiday weekend.
