Fraud fugitive busted after unwise friend request

The Associated Press
October 14, 2009

By GENE JOHNSON (AP)

SEATTLE – Maxi Sopo was living the dream of a fugitive abroad, kicking back
on the beaches of Cancun by day, partying in the clubs by night.

Then he did two things that are never a good idea when you’re on the run
from authorities: He started posting Facebook updates about how much fun he
was having – and added a former Justice Department official to his list of
friends.

That kind of recklessness landed the 26-year-old native of Cameroon in a
Mexico City jail, where he is awaiting extradition to the United States on
bank fraud charges. Federal prosecutors say he and an associate falsely
obtained more than $200,000 from Seattle-area banks and credit unions.

"He was making posts about how beautiful life is and how he was having a
good time with his buddies," said Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Scoville,
who helped find Sopo. "He was definitely not living the way we wanted him to
be living, given the charges he was facing."

Even in the hold-nothing-back world of social networking, where police
search Facebook photos for evidence of underage drinking and watch YouTube
videos to identify riot suspects, it’s rare that a fugitive helps
authorities this much.

In status updates, Sopo said he was "loving it" and "living in paradise."
"LIFE IS VERY SIMPLE REALLY!!!!" he wrote on June 21. "BUT SOME OF US HUMANS
MAKE A MESS OF IT…REMEMBER AM JUST HERE TO HAVE FUN PARTEEEEEEE."

Sopo, who came to the U.S. in about 2003, made a living selling roses in
Seattle nightclubs until, according to prosecutors, he moved on to bank
fraud. He apparently drove a rented car to Mexico in late February after
learning that federal agents were investigating the fraud scheme.

Investigators initially could find no trace of him on social networking
sites such as Facebook and MySpace, and they were unable to pin down his
exact location in Mexico.

But several months later, Secret Service agent Seth Reeg checked Facebook
again – and up popped Maxi Sopo. His photo showed him wearing a black jacket
decorated with a white lion as he stood in front of a party backdrop
featuring logos of BMW and Courvoisier cognac.

Although Sopo’s profile was set to private, his list of friends was not, and
Scoville started combing through it. He was surprised to see that one friend
listed an affiliation with the Justice Department and sent him a message
requesting a phone call.

"We figured this was a person we could probably trust to keep our inquiry
discreet," Scoville said.

The former official told Scoville he had met Sopo in Cancun’s nightclubs a
few times, but did not really know him and had no idea he was a fugitive.
The official learned where Sopo was living and passed that information back
to Scoville, who provided it to Mexican authorities. They arrested Sopo last
month.

The fugitive had been living at a nice apartment complex, working at a hotel
and partying at Cancun’s beaches, pools and nightclubs, Scoville said.
Sopo does not yet have a lawyer, and it was not immediately clear how to
contact him.

Prosecutors say he masterminded the bank fraud scheme with Edward
Asatoorians, who was convicted by a federal jury in Seattle last week.
Testimony at trial indicated the pair persuaded young co-conspirators to lie
about their income to obtain loans for fabricated auto purchases, and then
used the money to prop up Asatoorians’ business and to take an expensive
trip to Las Vegas.

Asatoorians is expected to face at least five years in prison when he’s
sentenced. If convicted, Sopo could face up to 30 years.

Citing privacy concerns, the former Justice Department official declined an
interview request left with the U.S. attorney’s office.

Scoville said it was someone who left the department when the Obama
administration arrived, and who had been taking some time off and organizing
student trips to Cancun.

Facebook was not Sopo’s only computer activity during his time on the lam.
An affidavit contains details from an instant-message conversation in March
between Sopo and a low-level conspirator in the case. Sopo explained that he
had fled to "the one safe place where i can actually think."