4. After Consulting with JUMA,
ABBAS Arranged to Have KYARI Imprison CHIBUZO in Nigeria in Retaliation for,
and to Prevent Him from, Trying to Coopt the Victim
Businessperson
129. As discussed in paragraph
120, JUMA and ABBAS had a falling out
with CHIBUZO after CHIBUZO felt that he was being underpaid (or had not
been
paid) for work on the fake Wells
Fargo website, and then contacted the Victim Businessperson directly. ABBAS
then arranged to have KYARI arrest and imprison CHIBUZO in Nigeria for
attempting to redirect fraudulent proceeds
intended for ABBAS and JUMA to
himself, to keep CHIBUZO from interfering with the scheme. This section
discusses those events and KYARI’s involvement in the conspiracy.
130. On January 13, 2020, the
Victim Businessperson contacted JUMA about a person who had contacted the
Victim Businessperson about the loan,
stating “This number is calling
me but I didn’t answer.” The Victim
Businessperson also provided JUMA
a screenshot of and forwarded additional conversations between the Victim
Businessperson and CHIBUZO, who was using
the U.S. phone number 3054405586. That phone number was the same phone
number used by CHIBUZO to send ABBAS information about the fake Wells
Fargo website described earlier.
In the messages, CHIBUZO sent the Victim Businessperson’s passport, and claimed
to be “trying to help” the Victim Businessperson.
131. JUMA forwarded these
messages from the Victim Businessperson to ABBAS, who responded, “I will deal
with him.” At approximately the same time,
ABBAS asked CHIBUZO for a phone
number on which to call him. Two minutes later, ABBAS sent the phone number on
which he contacted CHIBUZO (which
CHIBUZO had previously also sent
to ABBAS) to KYARI without providing any 52 additional context. Just before
forwarding the phone number to KYARI, ABBAS
placed a nearly five-minute call
to KYARI, using the phone number described in paragraph 136.
132. A short time later, ABBAS
told JUMA, “setting him up already. He will learn.” JUMA replied, “He almost
messed it up bro,” to which ABBAS responded “They are working on it already.”
133. Approximately an hour later,
CHIBUZO responded to ABBAS’
message requesting his phone
number by providing another phone number.
ABBAS also sent this number to KYARI without providing any additional
context in the message.
134. On January 15, 2020, this
time using WhatsApp, ABBAS sent an
audio recording to KYARI,
stating, essentially, that he wanted to remind KYARI about what they discussed earlier.
135. On January 16, 2020, ABBAS
sent the following threats to
CHIBUZO:
*I dey always tell people to
think well before they offend me and make them make sure they fit stand the
consequences when the time comes. I won’t say more than that but very soon,
very very soon, the wrath of my hands shall find you and when it does, it will
damage you forever. At this point I no get discussion with you, u have
committed a crime that won’t be
forgiven, that is punishable and you shall receive die punishment in due
time I swear with my life you
will regret messing with me, you will even wish you died before my hands will
touch you.
136. Also on January 16, 2020,
ABBAS sent a message to KYARI on WhatsApp, and then placed five calls to another
phone number (+2348060733588) that was listed as “ABBA KYARI.” Call records
show that the last three of the calls were answered and that one of the calls
lasted more than two minutes.
Shortly after that, ABBAS
received a message from KYARI, confirming “We would pick him today or
tomorrow.” ABBAS wrote, “I will take care of the team also after they pick him
up.” KYARI confirmed “Yes ooo.”
a. Based on the conversation
described in paragraphs 143 to 145, ABBAS planned to pay the Nigeria Police
Force officers who arrested CHIBUZO for that service.
b. This was not the only time
that ABBAS arranged payments
with KYARI. On May 20, 2020,
ABBAS sent KYARI transaction receipts for two transactions from accounts at
Nigerian banks (GTBank and Zenith Bank) of a
person ABBAS knew in the U.A.E.—a
person also arrested with ABBAS in ABBAS’ apartment in the U.A.E. by Dubai
Police on June 9, 2020—to the Nigerian bank accounts of another person in
Nigeria. The amounts on the transaction receipts totaled 8 million Nigerian
Naira, which was approximately
$20,600 based on publicly
available exchange rate information.
137. Attempting to reason with
ABBAS, on January 18, 2020, CHIBUZO recounted for ABBAS all the assistance he
had provided in the scheme to victimize
the Victim Businessperson,
including creating the “power of attorney” document (see paragraphs 67–68),
devising a story to tell the Victim Businessperson (see paragraph 117), and
facilitating the creation of the “telephone banking” number
(see paragraphs 109–116) and fake
Wells Fargo website (see paragraph 117).
138. As discussed in paragraph
32.b, on January 20, 2020, KYARI sent to ABBAS biographical, identifying
information for CHIBUZO, along with a
photograph of him. In a
conversation immediately following, ABBAS confirmed
“that is him sir.” KYARI stated,
“We have arrested the guy . . . He is in my Cell 54 now. This is his picture
after we arrested him today.” (The below image is a cropped version of the
photograph that KYARI sent to ABBAS.)
139. KYARI sent the biographical
information about, and photograph of, CHIBUZO to ABBAS using two different
WhatsApp numbers—the second of which KYARI said was his “private number.” From
that point on, KYARI and ABBAS primarily discussed the arrest and detention of
KYARI through WhatsApp on this “private number.”
140. After receiving the
photograph of CHIBUZO, ABBAS stated, “I want
him to go through serious beating
of his life.” KYARI responded, “Hahahaha,” and ABBAS replied, “Seriously
sir.” KYARI then asked for details about
what
CHIBUZO did “on audio,” which
KYARI said was “So that we will know what to do.”
141. In response to KYARI’s
question about what CHIBUZO had done to ABBAS, ABBAS sent KYARI an audio
message, which is transcribed here, describing how CHIBUZO had tried to steal
away a fraud victim (i.e., “the job”) from him:
*What he did is, I have one job.
The job want to pay me 500, umm, 75,000 dollars [i.e., $575,000]. He went to
message the job behind me because I told him to help me
make one document for me to give
the job. Then he went—he has a—I gave him the details. Then he went to message
the job behind my back and try to divert the money and in this process he tell
the job because of the documents he gave me that I gave the job, he tell the
job, “These document they sent to you before. These people are fake. This
money—is me who can help you to get it.
Come to me le—bring this money
you want to pay these people to me. I’m the only one who can help you,” and all
these things to divert the job for himself.*
142. After listening to the
message, KYARI wrote, “Ok I understand.
But he has not succeeded.” ABBAS
claimed CHIBUZO had taken some money, and provided KYARI with two screenshots,
one of which contained the phone number 3054405586 (the phone number CHIBUZO
used to contact the Victim Businessperson). The screenshots showed a person
contacting the Victim Businessperson and stating that he was providing
information to try to “help” the Victim Businessperson. KYARI responded, “Yeah
I understand.” KYARI did not
request other information or
evidence relating to CHIBUZO’s role in the scheme, ask questions about the
nature of the transaction, or ask about why CHIBUZO told the Victim
Businessperson that ABBAS was “fake.”
143. ABBAS then told KYARI, “Now
the [Victim Businessperson] was
skeptic to pay me the money cos
he keep attacking the [Victim Businessperson] from his end. Now I can handle
the [VictimB usinessperson] correctly.” ABBAS
further told KYARI that he wanted
to pay money to send CHIBUZO to jail for a long time, stating “Please sir I
want to spend money to send this boy to jail, let him go for a very long time.”
KYARI responded, “Ok bro, I understand, I will discuss with my team who
arrested him . . . And handling the case. We will do
something about it.”
144. ABBAS responded, “Let me
know how I can send money to the team sir[.] let them deal with him like armed
robber.” KYARI responded, “OK I will send their account details to u.” ABBAS
further wrote, “He betray me and try to take food out my mouth, this is great
punishable sin,” and KYARI responded, “Yeah bro.” ABBAS then continued, “I want
him to suffer for many years.”
KYARI responded, “Hahahaha [¶]
Hahahaha.”
145. Approximately six minutes
later, KYARI provided the account
information for a bank account at
a Nigerian bank, Zenith Bank, in the name of a person other than KYARI himself.
ABBAS responded “Ok sir, tomorrow by noon,” indicating that he would make the
payment to KYARI’s team by the next day.
146. On the same day, ABBAS sent
JUMA the photograph of CHIBUZO
in custody, which KYARI had sent.
147. Approximately a month later,
on February 19, 2020, KYARI sent a
message to ABBAS, saying, “Hello
hush with [sic] need to talk about the subject
under detention with me.” ABBAS asked “Should I call u on this number
sir?” to which KYARI replied “Yes call me.”
148. The following day, KYARI
sent ABBAS multiple photographs of
CHIBUZO to ABBAS, including
close-up photographs showing a rash or skin disease on CHIBUZO’s torso and
arms. ABBAS responded, “I don pity am, make them leave am from Tuesday.” KYARI
wrote, “Ok bro, they just brought him from hospital. The fever and the rashes
is giving him serious Wahala [¶] He got the disease from other suspects in the
cell.” ABBAS responded, “I see am, I no too
pity am [¶] That’s what people
like him deserve but I go forgive am for God sake.”
In other words, based on my
training and experience with Nigerian Pidgin, ABBAS was essentially stating, in
part, “I don’t pity him. That’s what people like
him deserve, but I will forgive
him for God’s sake.”
a. Based on the date of the
messages and later discussion
described in paragraph 150, ABBAS
was—on Thursday, February 20, 2020—requesting that KYARI not to release CHIBUZO
until Tuesday, February 25, 2020.
149. ABBAS then told KYARI that
CHIBUZO’s girlfriend messaged him, trying to raise one million Naira to secure
CHIBUZO’s release, and said ABBAS promised to contribute 100,000 Naira. KYARI
stated “They were thinking it’s
normal arrest that is why they
think money can remove him . . . No money can remove him here [¶] Hahahaha.”
ABBAS added, “But it’s better for them to think
that way, I like it like that,”
and KYARI responded, “Yeah.”
150. ABBAS then said, “No problem
sir from Tuesday he can go,”
apparently giving KYARI his
blessing to release CHIBUZO from custody.
KYARI responded, “Ok bro [¶] We
will also keep his phone and other gadgets for some weeks.” ABBAS responded,
“Yes those ones they should not give him again, those ones are gone . . . Make
he no see those ones again for life,” instructing KYARI not to return CHIBUZO’s
electronic devices. KYARI responded, “Yes he will not see it Again,” indicating
that he would accede to ABBAS’ request.
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