FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CRM

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 7, 1994 (202) 616-2771
TDD (202) 514-1888

FEDERAL GRAND JURY INDICTS SEVEN IN
INTERNATIONAL MONEY SCAM OKLAHOMA CITY, OKLAHOMA -- A federal grand jury superseding
indictment unsealed today charged seven individuals who allegedly
conspired to defraud the owner of a German computer software
company out of more than $330,000, said U.S. Attorney Vicki Miles-
LaGrange.
The seven, who operated out of Oklahoma City, New York City
and Nigeria, are Peter I. Philips, Robert M. Sensi, Prince Mingi
XII Cookey, Alhji Usman Tukur, A. Mohammed Rasheed, C. Obido and
Johnny Philips Okipiri. Four of the defendants also allegedly used
a total of 10 different aliases to carry out the crimes.
Sensi was arrested on September 16, 1994, in Washington, D.C.,
and is out on bond. Peter I. Philips, a Nigerian citizen, was
arrested on May 23, 1994, in Oklahoma City, and is currently in the
Oklahoma County Jail. Philips was arraigned today and pleaded not
guilty. The remaining defendants are citizens of Nigeria and are
believed to be residing there at this time. The Department of
Justice's Office of International Affairs is seeking the
extradition of these defendants to the United States to stand
trial.
The indictment alleges the seven used interstate and
international telephone wire communications in an elaborate scheme
to defraud their target, Roland Woschny, owner of Hard and
Softwarevertrieb of Ronsberg, Germany, a computer supply company.
Allegedly, after a person initially approached Woschny at a trade
fair in Munich, German, in September 1993, the defendants made a
series of telephone and facsimile contacts with Woschny in an
effort to convince him he was dealing with representatives of the
Nigerian Government and the Central Bank of Nigeria. Between
January and May 1994, these contacts allegedly led Woschny to
believe he would receive about $22.3 million, described to him as
money which was "derived from an over-estimated contract with a
Yugoslavian firm." This money allegedly was to have been paid to
Woschny for his "assistance and cooperation" in an alleged "top
secret project," and upon Woschny's payments of various expenses,
"gifts," "tender fees," "cable and communications fees," and other
fees. In total, Woschny had paid over $816,000 to the defendants,
without receiving any money in return. Over $330,000 of this sum
was wire transferred to an Oklahoma City bank account designated
and controlled by Peter I. Philips.
Special Agents of the IRS Criminal Investigation Division
tracked the flow of money from Luxembourg into an Oklahoma City
bank account, which led to the discovery of the alleged scheme.
Some of the money was then transferred to various accounts in Hong
Kong, London and Washington, D.C. Other portions of the money were
used to purchase, among other things, two Lincoln automobiles and
an Oklahoma City nightclub named "Dreams." The cars and the
nightclub have been seized by the IRS for forfeiture in the case.
Miles-LaGrange called this case the first of its kind in the
United States. "I'd like to commend the excellent work by the IRS
on this case, especially in view of the international nature of the
alleged scheme."

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