VISA FRAUD: Woman Pay N1.5 Million For Fake Marriage, Nabbed?

The suspects are to be prosecuted soon.
A woman, Funke Adebisi, and her husband, who won a visa lottery to the United States, were arrested at the American Embassy after it was discovered that their marriage was fake, the police has said.
Ms. Adebisi, 27, and her alleged husband, Adejayan Adetokunbo, were interviewing for the Immigrant Visa to U.S. as a couple before their luck ran out.
The Police Special Fraud Unit, SFU, said that it acted upon a petition, dated July 15, by the Assistant Regional Security Officer at the U.S. Consulate.
“The suspects were arrested by the embassy when they came to collect their visa and handed over to SFU,” police said in a statement signed by Ngozi Isintume-Agu, the Public Relations Officer.
Investigations revealed that the couple had an “arrangee” marriage arranged by one Mr. Segun and his syndicate who specialise in merging prospective Visa seekers in marriage and smuggling them to the U.S., police said.
Mr. Segun and his cohorts are still at large, the police added.
“Their modus operandi is to merge a lottery winner and a non-winner and package both to USA,” Mrs. Isintume-Agu said.
“In this case, the sum of N1.5 million was collected from Funke and she was purportedly joined in matrimony with Adejayan Adetokunbo who genuinely won the lottery visa.
“Both suspects confessed in their statements that they are not husband and wife,” Mrs. Isintume-Agu added.
Mr. Adetokunbo, 35, a teacher at Jims International School, Mafoluku, Oshodi, admitted that he won a lottery played for him by a friend’s brother, according to the police.
“He stated that the so called friend called him in May 2012 to inform him of the winning and that he must attach with somebody before coming to USA,” said the police.
“He further stated that Segun was introduced to him by the so called friend and Segun in turn brought Funke for the arranged marriage and subsequent interview and visa.”
The police also stated that Ms. Adebisi, a former staff of Ladtimi Automart Ltd, confessed that she paid N1 million to process her visa and another N500,000 to cover passports, medicals, and training.
“She admitted that the 1st suspect (Mr. Adetokunbo) is not her husband and that it was Segun that lured her into this mess. She regretted her action and stated that she is (a) novice to the whole issue,” said Mrs. Isintume-Agu.
The police said that the suspects would be charged to court “soonest.”
Source: Premium Times