The Oregonian, OR
March 15 2005
3 charged in scheme to steal IDs in fraud case
The three men, all illegal immigrants, are suspected of being part of
an international gang that launders money
JOSEPH ROSE
Police detectives were expecting Kenneth Emina to walk into a
Portland brokerage firm in late January.
Several undercover cops spent the afternoon in the office, posing as
employees and customers, waiting to nab the suspected money launderer
from Nigeria.
What they didn’t anticipate, they said, was Enima spilling the
intricate details of an international gang of thieves at the sign of
the first badge.
“He started giving us names, details, everything, right there,” said
Portland police Detective John Kuechler. “We had to shut him up long
enough to read him his rights.”
Standing in the financial office, Enima, 37, outlined for
investigators a million-dollar fraud ring that was laundering money
through Portland’s financial community.
Police arrested Enima; Francis J. Osai, 35, thought to be from
Nigeria; and Ari Gokbas, 35, an Armenian-Turk. They face charges of
identity theft and first-degree aggravated theft.
The three men, all illegal immigrants from California, stole the
identity of 17 people in 11 states before traveling to Portland in
January, police said. None of the victims was from Oregon.
Using credit cards and fake California driver’s licenses, the trio
allegedly withdrew money from their victims’ commercial bank accounts
at several Portland area branches.
They then attempted to launder the money through brokerage firm
accounts, Kuechler said.
“They had beautiful, beautiful California ID’s,” he said, adding that
the pictures on the fake driver’s licenses were actually sharper than
usual.”
The men are suspected of writing nearly $1 million in checks using
the victims’ accounts, and were in the early stages of pulling the
money out of brokerage accounts, Kuechler said.
In one case, he said, a suspect asked a brokerage firm to make out a
check to a third party and took it across the street to a bank to
cash it with a fake driver’s license.
Police were tipped off by a bank investigator Jan. 26.
Enima had asked a brokerage firm to cut him four checks worth a total
of $36,000 shortly after depositing money into an account, police
said. Suspicious employees at the firm told Enima to come back later
for the checks and called the bank investigator.
Enima and Osai are being held by Homeland Security. Ari Gokbas is
expected to be arraigned in the next week. Federal investigators also
have arrested two men they say were connected to the ring in
California.
Authorities suspect the men were working with someone in Nigeria,
where fraud is one of the top three industries.
“The ultimate goal of these guys,” Kuechler said, “was to wire these
funds to another location, where someone could pick it up and run
with it.”