9 from Ga. charged in television shopping network fraud

<p>Nine Georgia residents with ties to Nigeria were charged Thursday with stealing hundreds of personal computers, digital cameras, and other electronic devices worth nearly $1 million from three television shopping networks, authorities said.</p><p>Moyo Akeen Kasim of Hampton, Abioye Kassim of Sharpsburg, Tunde Ayinla Moshud of Doraville, Hameed Adage Osiefa of College Park, Godwin Stephen of Covington, Babru Okoya and Moriamoh Ojikuta of Atlanta were arrested on Thursday and expected to appear in federal court later Thursday afternoon. Two of the defendants, Moukarim Adegbayi and Hope Lashawn Smith have not been arrested and are considered fugitives.</p><p>According to federal prosecutors, six of the defendants are charged with wire fraud and conspiracy. The indictment says they used credit cards and ordered electronic goods sold on payment plans from the Home Shopping Network, the Shop At Home Network and the QVC Network. After they paid the initial installment, the goods were shipped to various locations.</p><p>The defendants would then report their credit cards lost or stolen, authorities said. After obtaining new ones from their issuing banks, they would order more goods from the networks. The defendants used multiples names, aliases, credit cards and addresses to carry out the scheme, prosecutors said.</p><p>The goods were allegedly taken to Nigeria, where the defendants are from. In all, prosecutors said the six defendants placed 424 orders to the networks for more than $640,000.</p><p>Okoya, Ojikuta and Smith are charged in an identical scheme in a separate indictment, placing 148 orders for goods worth more than $281,000.</p><p>All of the defendants except Okoya _ who is a Nigerian citizen _ are naturalized American citizens. Each faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison on each wire fraud count, and a maximum of five years on the conspiracy count.</p>