A Toronto resident who lost $355,000 in a romance cryptocurrency fraud was able to recover some of those funds after the Nigerian man, Omonkhoa Precious Afure, who was allegedly behind the scam was arrested, the Toronto Police Service (TPS) reveals.
Omonkhoa was arrested on November 8, 2021, in the Ikoyi area of Lagos, following credible intelligence received by the Commission about his illegal activities.
A statement released by the antigraft agency says Omonkhoa allegedly posed as Moshem Cnich, a Swedish national, to defraud unsuspecting victims of their hard-earned money by claiming that he runs a bitcoin scheme, where people invest money to make huge returns.
In a news release on Monday, December 9, 2024, the Toronto Police Service (TPS) was first notified of a crypto scam in 2021 and began working with various investigative departments, including the Royal Canadian Mounted Police’s (RCMP) International Liaison Officers in Nigeria and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission – EFCC.
TPS said EFCC eventually arrested and charged Omonkhoa Precious Afure and officials seized the proceeds of the crime.
Nigerian courts determined the assets belonged to the Canadian victim, and in December, TPS officials returned $225,000 CAD to that person.
EFCC on August 24, 2022, arraigned Afure and Lucky Uchechukwu Ndukwe, a manager with Cubana Group before Justice O.A. Fadipe of the Special Offences Court sitting in Ikeja, Lagos for $164,000 money laundering.
“In the fall of 2021, the Toronto Police Service received a romance cryptocurrency fraud complaint after a Toronto area resident was defrauded of over $355,000 in cryptocurrency,” Toronto Police disclosed in the statement.
“Over the course of three years, members of Toronto Police from the Coordinated Cyber Centre (C3), 51 Division Fraud Unit, and Financial Crimes Asset Forfeiture Unit worked closely with the Ontario Provincial Police’s Anti-Rackets Branch, Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (CAFC), Royal Canadian Mounted Police’s (RCMP) International Liaison Officers located in Nigeria, and with Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission – EFCC.
“As a result of the collaborative efforts between these units, in December of 2024, Toronto Police was able to return $225,000 back to the victim.
“It is alleged that the victim began communicating with an individual named “Moshe Theodor McNigh” on Facebook in June of 2021.
“The suspect befriended the victim, who was encouraged to invest in cryptocurrency (Bitcoin), through Legacyfxtraders.online (Legacy)
“In the fall of 2021, Nigerian law enforcement officials contacted the victim confirming that the victim was defrauded in a cryptocurrency investment scheme, losing an estimated $355,000 in Canadian funds.
“Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had arrested and charged Omonkhoa Precious Afure, of Nigeria.
“The proceeds of crime were subsequently seized by Nigerian officials and recently, the Nigerian Courts determined the proceeds to be the victim’s assets. The Nigerian Courts ordered the proceeds to be restituted to the victim.
“According to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (CAFC), in 2023, victims reported losing over $52.5 million to romance frauds and over $309 million to investment frauds. It is estimated that only 5-10% of victims report their frauds to the CAFC or law enforcement.
“In addition, victims wishing to report their frauds to Nigerian authorities can do so via the Eagle Eye reporting application from anywhere around the world to assist in combating Cyber-Enabled frauds.”
