Long Island Man Bilked Out Of $5.3M In Georgia-Based Elder Scam: Feds

CENTRAL ISLIP, NY — A Georgia man has been indicted on charges in connection with his scamming a Suffolk man out of around $5.3 million to help secure a bogus inheritance in Singapore, but instead spent the money on luxury items like Louis Vuitton and Apple products, the U.S. Attorney's office said.

Odera Odabi, 54, of Lawrenceville, has been indicted on two charges of conspiring to commit mail fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering. He was arrested Tuesday in Georgia, where he made his initial appearance in federal court in Atlanta and was ordered detained pending trial, prosecutors said.

Odabi will be arraigned in federal court in Central Islip at a later date.

He faces up to a maximum term of 40 years’ imprisonment if convicted of the charges.

Between around April 2020 and December 2021, Odabi and his co-conspirators falsely informed an elderly Suffolk resident, who is referred to only as "John Doe," that he needed to send around $5.3 million to various bank accounts to obtain a purported “Certificate of Origination” from the International Monetary Fund and claim a purported inheritance in Singapore, prosecutors said.

But the IMF does not issue certificates and has posted a warning on its website alerting the public to fraudulent schemes involving purported IMF certificates, according to prosecutors.

As a result of the false communications, the man sent Odabi and his co-conspirators around $5.3 million, including around $2 million to accounts held in the name of Oh-Dabi Properties, LLC, and American Commodity Exchange, Inc., which are two Georgia-based companies that Odabi runs, prosecutors said.

Obadi and his co-conspirators stole nearly all of John Doe’s funds "to benefit themselves," like with purchases at an Apple Store and Louis Vuitton, except for $197,000, which was frozen by bank officials on suspicion of fraud, according to prosecutors.

The man who was scammed was not publicly named to protect his identity, a U.S. Attorney's office spokeswoman said.

Odabi's co-conspirators were also not named.

His attorney's information was not immediately available.

United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Breon Peace announced the indictment, along with Michael Driscoll, assistant director-in-charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's New York Field office.

Peace said Odabi and his co-conspirators callously abused the trust of an elderly victim to line their pockets with millions in stolen cash."

“This office and our partners will work tirelessly to ensure that those who prey upon some of the most vulnerable members of our community are called to account for their crimes," he said.

Driscoll said the group "took advantage of an elderly individual, deceiving the victim into sending more than five million dollars, which the schemers used for their own personal benefit."

"Financial frauds targeting elderly members of our communities are sadly rising at an alarming rate," he said. "The FBI is resolute in ensuring those who financially exploit the elderly face the consequences in the criminal justice system."

The U.S. Attorney's office is urging anyone who knows someone, or who might be a victim of elder fraud, to call the Department of Justice’s National Elder Fraud Hotline at 833–FRAUD–11 (833–372–8311). Community organizations can request a presentation by emailing USANYE-SpeakersBureau@usdoj.gov.