FBI arrests alleged Nigerian fraudster, Bobo Chicago over $2.8 million scam
The United States Federal Bureau of Investigation has reportedly arrested an alleged notorious fraudster Oluyomi Omobolanle Bombata alias Bobo Chicago for allegedly scamming several companies and individuals of monies going up to $2.8 million.
According to a Peoples Gazette report, Bobo Chicago, also known as ‘Bola Flexx’ due to his extravagant lifestyle, was arrested on November 20 in Illinois, Chicago based on an arrest warrant issued in Oklahoma following several criminal complaints filed against him and corroborating an investigation that deemed his activities suspicious.
Bobo Chicago, 25, was said to have terrorised Nigerians living in the Houston metro area before fleeing to Chicago to take up residency.
From Chicago, he was transferred to Oklahoma, where he allegedly committed the fraud and faced a five-count charge of criminal consequences, which the FBI listed as wire fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, money laundering, conspiracy to commit money laundering and unlawful monetary transactions, committed between June 2023 and October 2023.
His co-conspirator was also being held in custody by law enforcement agents.
Federal agents already identified $2.8 million that Bobo Chicago collected by hacking into multiple companies and individual accounts located in the Eastern District of Oklahoma jurisdiction.
The agents further found that he transferred over $300,000 of alleged fraudulent funds to a popular liquor store in the U.S., implicating the store owner.
Judge Beth Jantz of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois in Chicago signed paperwork for him to be transferred to Oklahoma to face charges.
Bobo Chicago was assigned a public defender after claiming he had no financial resources to fight the case on his own, a move that suggests he would rather do time than spend a fortune to argue his innocence.
His arrest adds to a list of Nigerians languishing in jail as convicted criminals or facing criminal charges.
FBI has tracked down dozens of notorious Nigerian fraudsters, including Hushpuppi and Mr Woodberry, serving jail terms in Fort Dix correctional facility for scamming millions of dollars from U.S. companies.
Arrested in June 2020 in Dubai and extradited to the U.S. to defend himself against Internet scam charges, Hushpuppi was convicted and sentenced to 11 years in prison in 2022 by United States District Judge Otis D. Wright II.
Judge Robert Gettleman of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois in Chicago convicted and sentenced Mr Woodberry to eight years and three months in jail over one count of fraud in July 2023.
He was handed a lighter sentence that shaved off seven other counts in a plea bargain.
Bidemi Rufai, a convicted felon and associate of Ogun governor Dapo Abiodun, was the first to be released earlier this month as reported by Peoples Gazette.
