Essex County Men Indicted For $350,000 Fraud Scheme

A federal grand jury indicted two Essex County men on Wednesday for their respective roles in a scheme that allegedly defrauded credit card companies of hundreds of thousands of dollars, authorities stated.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office (NJ), Richard Adebayo, 38, of East Orange, and Amos Peter Agbajaife, 37, of Newark, are each charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, eight counts of wire fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft.

The two men were originally charged by complaint on Sept. 16, 2014.

Adebayo was arrested in 2014 and Agbajaife remains at large, authorities stated.

According to court documents and statements, from March 2014 to April 2014, Adebayo and Agbajaife are alleged to have fraudulently obtained personal identifying information, including dates of birth, Social Security numbers and passwords of credit card holders.

The men allegedly used the information to fraudulently obtain replacement credit cards in the victims’ names and then used the cards to purchase high-value items from retail stores, prosecutors charge.

According to court documents, Adebayo was carrying a laptop computer when he was arrested. A forensic analysis of the computer allegedly revealed the stolen identities, including names, Social Security numbers, dates of birth, addresses, bank account information, and credit card information of at least 70 victims.

Law enforcement sources confirmed that approximately $350,000 in fraudulent charges was incurred on the credit cards of the victims, the U.S. Attorney’s Office stated.

Each count of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud carries a maximum potential penalty of 30 years in prison and a fine of up to $1 million. The count of aggravated identity theft carries a mandatory term of two years in prison, which must run consecutively to any term of imprisonment imposed for other counts of the indictment, prosecutors stated.