Quatloos! > Advance Fee > Exhibit: Nigerian 4-1-9 Scam > Nigerian Scammer Sentenced

419 scam mastermind jailed for 12 years

September 04 2002 at 09:11PM
By Hanti Otto

The first ever person to be found guilty of racketeering in South Africa - a Nigerian - was sentenced to 12 years imprisonment in the Specialised Commercial Crimes Court in Pretoria on Wednesday.

Samuel Williams, 35, who pleaded guilty to the crime, was arrested by the Scorpions on August 16 this year.

Williams managed the South African branch of a criminal enterprise which operated from a house in Sandton where he and other Nigerians were arrested.

The scam operators would offer millions of US dollars to foreign businessmen
The enterprise operated the 419 scam - which refers to Section 419 of the Nigerian Criminal Legislation which prohibits the use of false letters to obtain funds.

The scam operators would offer millions of US dollars to foreign businessmen with the request for advance payments. The "enterprise" would claim it had millions available and needed these individuals to open accounts for them or to give them money to unlock the millions, which did not really exist.

In return for this favour, the "enterprise" claimed it would pay commission to those people who "helped" them.

The racketeering enterprise pretended to have the support of a profile advisor to the South African Reserve Bank; a lawyer with a Cape Town law firm that did not exist; a certain Khaya Ngema who was allegedly a senior official with the Department of Finance; and a Themba Mkhwane, an employee of the Department of Minerals and Energy Affairs. None of these people existed.

During the raid in Sandton, the Scorpions discovered 181 letters addressed to people all over the world and CDs with a US and Canadian mailing list. They also confiscated 16 cellphones, 22 SIM cards and documents.