NEWARK, N.J. – Two more participants in a scam that drained millions from credit unions and banks through phony home equity loans were jailed yesterday.
Oludola Akinmola, an illegal immigrant from Nigeria, and Derrick Polk of Los Angeles, are among two dozen individuals charged with using stolen personal information to induce credit unions and banks to provide them with home equity loans in the names of legitimate accountholders.
Sometimes the scamsters called the credit unions and posed as members. They used a dial-pad code to block the credit unions’ caller identification system and asked to transfer big chunks from the members' home equity lines. In one case, they moved $675,000 from Affinity FCU in Basking Ridge to the Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi, according to court records.
Part of the scam was to block credit unions’ or banks’ efforts to call legitimate members for verification. In several cases the scamsters successfully convinced the credit union to change the number they had on record for the members to a phony number they controlled.
Akinmola, one of several Nigerians convicted in the scheme, was sentenced yesterday to 39 months in federal prison but is expected to be deported before then. Polk was sentenced to 70 months in prison.
At least two other suspects in the case also pleaded guilty and have already been sentenced: Adekunle Adejuyigbe was sentenced to three years and 10 months in prison; Oluwajide Ogunbiyi was sentenced to 15 months.
