Meet your Nigerian prince. Police say hes behind hundreds of scam emails

[milestogo]

Anyone with an email address has likely gotten a message from a Nigerian prince or two offering hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of dollars in secret inheritances or, in some cases, payment for assistance laundering ill-gotten gains from mining conglomerates or royal treasuries.

Police in Slidell, Louisiana, say they finally caught up with one of the people behind some of those emails. He’s not exactly Nigerian royalty, either, police wrote in a Facebook post. Michael Neu, 67, of Slidell, Louisiana, faces 269 counts of wire fraud and money laundering following an 18-month investigation, police wrote. They say Neu took part in hundreds of financial transactions involving phone and online scams to con money from people across the United States.

In these scams, the supposed Nigerian prince (or other official) asks for the person’s personal banking information in order to speed the transfer of the purported inheritance or temporarily hold the allegedly pilfered funds. The information can then be used to withdraw funds from the victim’s accounts.

While Neu might lack a royal title, at least some of the money obtained in his scams did go to co-conspirators in Nigeria, police wrote. Investigators are continuing to untangle Neu’s web of scams, but many other leads also connect to people outside the U.S., the post says. Police noted that while these kinds of emails are laughable to many people, authorities report millions of dollars in losses to such scams each year.

http://www.mercedsunstar.com/news/nation-world/national/article192149904.html

[Sophiegirl]

1. But, but......but....

He needs my help!

[leftofcool]

4. He has a pregnant wife trying to make it to America and he will offer millions for your help.

[Docreed2003]

2. Not only does he not look like a Nigerian prince..

If you put that guy in a lineup of five dudes, he’d probably be the last one I’d pick as being involved in a major email scam!! Especially coming from Slidell!

[guillaumeb]

3. He looks like a Trump supporter.

The same look.

[Ferrets are Cool]

7. Unfortunately,

I LOOK like a PGIC voter. I'm white, from the deep south and old. We get pigeonholed all the time. It is seldom helpful to go by a persons appearance to determine which party they vote for.

[brooklynite]

5. Dear Sir...

An acquaintance of mind has knowledge of the location of millions of dollars in funds obtained fraudulently, and is current awaiting trial. bail can be raised, he will happily transmit the bank account details to obtain the ill-gotten funds. Please send $10,000 to.....

[Turbineguy]

6. You never run out of marks

with trump voters.

[Me.]

8. James Carville Lives In Slidell

I'm connecting the dots...

[milestogo]

9. I'm connecting the hairlines.

[ProudLib72]

10. That's it, I'm moving to Louisiana to become the Prince of Nambia!

Millions are coming my way soon...