US Police nab 'Nigerian prince.' He's a 67-year-old guy in
Slidell. Who knew?
US Police in Slidell, Louisiana,
United States say they have arrested a "Nigerian prince'' who is accused
of helping scam people out of thousands of dollars.
NOLA.com
| The Times-Picayune report continues:
Michael
Neu, 67, has been arrested and charged with 269 counts of wire fraud and money
laundering following an 18-month-long investigation by the Slidell Police
Department's Financial Crimes Division. Police said Thursday (Dec. 28)
that Neu, of Slidell, is suspected of being the "middle man'' in hundreds
of scams to separate people from their money.
In
the scam, an email arrives from someone claiming to be or represent a Nigerian
prince who says the recipient is the beneficiary of a large sum of money -
often millions of dollars -- but must first send personal financial information
such a bank account number to speed the process.
People
do fall for the scam, police say.
"Most
people laugh at the thought of falling for such a fraud, but law enforcement
officials report annual losses of millions of dollars to these schemes,"
Slidell police said in a news release.
The
Slidell police news release did not include specifics of the scams or its case
against Neu, but it said some of the money Neu is accused of obtaining was
later wired to co-conspirators actually in the country of Nigeria.
Police
said the investigation is continuing and has been made more complicated by the
fact that many leads are tied to people who live outside of the U.S.
Across
St. Tammany and the metro area, authorities in recent years have often warned
of telephone and computer scams. But they've announced few arrests.
Slidell
Police Chief Randy Fandal said Neu's arrest should be seen as another warning
for people to be careful not to fall victim to the scams.
"If
it sounds too good to be true, it probably is,'' Fandal said."Never give
out personal information over the phone, through email, cash checks for other
individuals or wire large amounts of money to someone you don't know.'
 |
Image
credit: Mapquest
|
Slidell
is a city situated on the northeast shore of Lake Pontchartrain in St. Tammany
Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 25,695 at the 2000 census.
The Greater Slidell Community has a population of about 90,000. It is part of
the New Orleans–Metairie–Kenner Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Slidell
was founded on the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain in 1882 and 1883 during
construction of the New Orleans and Northeastern Railroad (N.O.N.E.). The
N.O.N.E. line connected New Orleans to Meridian, Mississippi. The town was
named in honor of American politician and Confederate ambassador to France John
Slidell, father in law of real estate developer Baron Frederic Emile d'Erlanger
and officially chartered by the Louisiana State Legislature in 1888.
Around 1910, Slidell began
a period of economic and industrial growth. A large creosote plant was built,
and Slidell became home to the Fritz Salmen Brickyard, a major producer of
bricks later named St. Joe Brick. A lumber mill and shipyard were also built.
Following the construction of Interstate 10, Interstate 59, and Interstate 12,
Slidell became a major crossroads for those traversing the Gulf States.
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