The Ultimate Nigerian Bank Scam

MANHATTAN (CN) - A Nigerian man has been arrested and charged in an ultimate bank fraud scheme, in which he persuaded Citibank to wire him $27 million from the National Bank of Ethiopia, federal prosecutors said. After arranging the scam from Singapore, Paul Gabriel Amos, 37, was arrested on Jan. 15 while entering the United States, according to the indictment.

Amos and unnamed co-conspirators are accused of sending a raft of phony bank documents to Citibank, including callback numbers, with signatures that "appeared to match the signatures of NBE officials in Citibank's records," the U.S. Attorney's Office said in a statement. Amos then allegedly instructed Citibank to make two dozen wire transfers, of more than $27 million, to accounts in seven countries.

"Citibank verified these instructions through callback security checks with one or more of the purported NBE officials," the U.S. Attorney's Office said. "In this manner, between October 2 and October 16, 2008, AMOS and his co-conspirators caused Citibank to make a total of approximately 24 wire transfers, totaling approximately $27,167,078, to various accounts controlled by AMOS and his coconspirators in Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Australia, China, Cyprus, and the United States."

Paul Gabriel Amos also used the name Paul Amos Gabrielle and Amos Paul, according to the indictment.

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