Hawks and FBI extradite five Black Axe leaders who ran a R100 million scam from Cape Town

Five alleged leaders of the Cape Town cell of the Black Axe criminal network have appeared in a United States federal court after being extradited from South Africa on 11 September, ending an investigation that began with their arrest in 2021.

As MyBroadband reported on 16 September, the men were handed over to American authorities under heavy guard. They face charges of wire fraud, money laundering and aggravated identity theft in New Jersey, where prosecutors say the group ran internet fraud from Cape Town that reached victims around the world.

The Hawks, the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation, put the group’s combined take at about R100 million, drawn from the bank accounts of victims in the United States and elsewhere.

Who was handed over

The six men were arrested in a joint operation between Interpol and the Hawks in 2021 and have been in custody since. Five of them are described by the United States Attorney for New Jersey as leaders of Black Axe South Africa.

They are Perry Osagiede, who used the alias “Lord Sutan Abubaker de 1st”, and Franklyn Edosa Osagiede, who used “Lord Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela”. Both face wire fraud and aggravated identity theft charges.

They are joined by Osariemen Eric Clement, known as “Lord Adekunle Ajasi”, who faces wire fraud charges, Collins Owhofasa Otughwor, known as “Lord Jesse Makoko”, who faces identity theft charges, and Musa Mudashiru, known as “Lord Oba Akenzua”.

Perry Osagiede founded the Cape Town zone of the group and led it, according to the United States Attorney for New Jersey. The five were leaders of the Neo Black Movement of Africa, the organisation known as Black Axe, which is headquartered in Benin City in Nigeria and runs its operations abroad through cells it calls zones.

What the group is accused of

The scheme ran from at least 2011 to 2021. Prosecutors say the men worked from Cape Town to run widespread internet fraud built on romance scams.

Hawks spokesperson Katlego Mogale said the suspects trawled dating sites under false names and built relationships with people before inventing hardships and asking for money. “It is alleged that these suspects preyed on victims, many of whom were vulnerable widows or divorcees,” Mogale said at the time of the extradition. “The victims were led to believe that they were in genuine romantic relationships, but were scammed.”

Prosecutors say the invented stories often involved a traveller stranded on the way to South Africa for work, with trouble at a construction site or a crane. The group used social media, dating websites and internet calling services to make contact. Victims were persuaded to send money and goods overseas, including to South Africa, and in some cases were convinced to open American bank accounts that the group then used to move funds.

FBI Newark special agent in charge Stefanie Roddy called Black Axe a violent transnational criminal organisation that uses romance scams to raise money. Craig Marech, special agent in charge of the United States Secret Service, said the case showed what years of cooperation between agencies could achieve. “This case demonstrates the power of cooperation and sends a clear message that the Secret Service and our partners will pursue those who target U.S. victims wherever they operate,” he said.

South Africa’s part in the operation

The arrests that started this case were made here, and the extradition was carried out here. The Hawks worked alongside the FBI, the United States Secret Service and Interpol, with support from Crime Intelligence, the K9 unit, the National Intervention Unit and the Special Task Force.

That is the part a South African reader should hold on to. The conduct being prosecuted took place on South African soil, in Cape Town, and it was South African investigators working with international partners who ended it. The extradition itself was executed without incident, and the men are now before a court in New Jersey.

South Africa is a party to the international conventions that make this kind of handover possible, and the National Prosecuting Authority and the Department of Justice and Correctional Services processed the request. The practical result is that a group accused of running a decade-long fraud operation from this country has been removed from it and will answer for the conduct in the jurisdiction where most of the victims lived.

What it means for people here

Romance fraud is not a victimless crime committed somewhere else. South Africans are targeted by the same methods, and local banks and the police regularly warn about them. The methods described in this case, a fake profile, a slow build of trust, a sudden emergency and a request for money, are the same methods used against people in Gauteng and the Western Cape every week.

The case also matters because of what it says about how organised crime is policed here. Cross-border fraud networks are difficult to prosecute in any single country, because the offenders, the victims and the money sit in different jurisdictions. The mechanism used here, a joint investigation followed by an extradition to the country with the strongest case, is one of the few that works.

The Hawks have not said whether further arrests are expected in South Africa, and no date has been set for the next court appearance in New Jersey.

Source: MyBroadband, Nigerian crimelords operating in South Africa busted after 10 years and R100 million.