Three men who preyed on vulnerable and elderly people with an inheritance scam have been jailed. 

Jerry ‘Chucks’ Ozor, Emmanuel Samuel (also known as Chibyke) and Jonathan Iheanyichukwu Abraham (also known as Jo Samuel) were arrested across south London and extradited to the United States to face trials. 

The trio have now been found guilty of fraud after a court in Florida heard how they sent unexpected letters to people informing them that a long lost relative had passed away and that they were in line to inherit their assets. 

Victims were then drawn into further communications where they would be persuaded to pay charges in order to release the assets. 

News Shopper: Photos from Ozor's arrest in April 2022Photos from Ozor's arrest in April 2022 (Image: NCA)

Thousands of victims, mainly in the US, were targeted and the National Crime Agency (NCA) said millions of dollars of fraud has been identified. 

  • Abraham, 44, of Cumberland Place in Hither Green, was jailed for seven years and six months. 
  • Samuel, 44, of Longhurst Road in Croydon, was jailed for six years and ten months. 
  • Ozor, 43, of Wadhurst Court in Penge, was jailed for seven years and three months. 

The men, all originally from Nigeria, were arrested by the NCA at addresses across south London in April 2022. 

Further suspects with a role in the fraud were arrested by Spanish authorities in Madrid, while linked enforcement activity also took place in Portugal. 

Gary Cathcart, Head of Financial Investigation at the NCA, said: “This was a transnational, high harm fraud, where a dispersed network of ruthless criminals worked together to identify and target victims, inflicting life changing damage to vulnerable people. 

“International cooperation is essential to tackle such criminals; by working with our partners we can disrupt fraud and better protect the public.”