While the common perception of the U.S. justice system is that it is fair and just; the evidence found by this investigation reveals the exact opposite. Also, based on this investigation, it appears that there are two justice systems in the U.S., one that applies to whites, and one that applies to racial minorities — especially blacks. The investigation uncovered numerous instances of real life cases portraying the most egregious forms of injustices in the U.S., take the following examples:
-- Court Exonerates Black Man After 42 Years In Prison: Kevin Strickland, an African American male from Missouri, was wrongfully convicted of a triple homicide (murder) in 1978 and imprisoned in 1979 at age 18. He has been exonerated and released after 42 years in Missouri prison. The National Registry of Exonerations’ data logged since 1989 reveals this as the 17th longest wrongful sentence in U.S. history. (BBC News)
-- Court Dismisses Case Against 4 Black Men After 72 Years In Prison: In another example of racial injustice, the case of the Groveland Four, four black men accused in a 1949 rape in Florida, has been dismissed after 72 years in prison. A circuit court judge in Lake County has cleared the charges against the men and issued a ruling that effectively exonerated them of the crime. "We followed the evidence to see where it led us, and it led us to this moment," Gladson said at a news conference following the judge's decision. (NBC News)
-- Manhattan District Court To Exonerate Alleged Killers Of Malcom X After 55 Years In Prison: Yes, the two men, Muhammad A. Aziz and Khalil Islam, convicted in 1966 for allegedly killing Malcolm X, will be exonerated by the Manhattan District Court. Their exoneration, after discovering grave errors in the case, is coming from a 22- month investigation conducted jointly by the Manhattan district attorney’s office and lawyers for the two men. They found that prosecutors and two of the nation’s premier law enforcement agencies — the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the New York Police Department — had withheld key evidence that, had it been turned over, would likely have led to the mens’ acquittal. (NYTimes)
-- Jury Awards Man Who Has Spent 26 Years In Prison $6m After Finding Police Fabricated Evidence: A Federal jury has awarded a North Carolina man, Darryl Howard, $6 million after a jury in Winston-Salem found former Durham police detective Darryl Dowdy fabricated evidence in the case and trial that resulted in Howard’s conviction in 1995 of killing a woman and her daughter in 1991. Howard was sent to prison for more than 20 years. In 2017, Howard filed a federal civil rights lawsuit that accused Dowdy, the city of Durham and others, of actions that resulted in his being wrongfully convicted and the Durham County judge vacated Howard’s convictions citing police and prosecutorial misconduct. (US News)
The common denominator with these examples is that all the victims of these grave injustices are black. Also, the common thread in these examples is that the evidence against the victims was generally insufficient to convict them. In other words, according to publicly available information, it would not be unreasonable to conclude that in the U.S., justice system there is a perpetuation of scapegoating innocent people. In fact, according to the National Registry of Exonerations, since 1989, nearly 3,000 people that were wrongfully convicted, have been exonerated. “About half of them are black, 35% White and 12% Hispanic.”
Abegunde relocated to the U.S. from Nigeria in 2014 to pursue a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree at Texas A & M University in College Station, Texas. Upon graduating with the class of 2016, and recognizing opportunities in the remittances industry, Abegunde incorporated FJ Williams Inc. doing business As (DBA) TranzAlert. The investigation found that TranzAlert, a financial technology startup was duly licensed and registered with all the extant industry regulatory bodies including the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FINCEN), U.S. Department of the Treasury, the Georgia Department of Banking and Finance, and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). According to court records, these licenses and registrations permitted TranzAlert to engage in the currency exchange, and international remittance business.
According to publicly available financial regulatory documents that were reviewed in the course of the investigation, obtaining these licenses — that TranzAlert received from the regulatory agencies — requires rigorous actions and uncommon resources both in the U.S. and Nigeria.
According to court records, Abegunde’s travails began in August 2016 when his longtime friend Ayodeji Ojo visited the U.S. from Nigeria along with his pregnant wife and infant daughter. Ojo and his family were accommodated by Abegunde at his home in Atlanta, Georgia. In an interview, Ojo said at the time of the visit, he had a wholly legitimate check of $26,900 that was issued to him by Bank of America. Ojo intended to cash the check and utilize the funds for expenses associated with his family’s trip, including medical expenses related to his pregnant wife.
According to Ojo, after being unsuccessful in his attempts to cash the check at multiple Bank of America branches — due to the relatively large size of the check — he was advised by a Bank of America banker to open a new bank account at another bank, let the check go through the clearing process, and then the funds would become available to Ojo.
Ojo said he chose Wells Fargo bank, and at Wells Fargo, he was told that he was required to provide a valid identification document, and contact information for correspondence in the form of a U.S. mailing address and a U.S. mobile phone number. “I informed the Wells Fargo banker that I was a visitor in the U.S. and did not have a U.S. mailing address and a U.S. mobile phone number. After asking, the banker accepted that I could use Abegunde’s address and mobile phone number to open the account.”.
According to court records, the bank account was opened on August 29, 2016, and Ojo was able to access the funds two days after without any challenges.
The investigation found that after an approximately three week stay in the U.S. which involved staying in Abegunde’s home, and travelling to other states, Ojo and his family returned to Lagos, Nigeria via Amsterdam, Netherlands on September 16, 2016 flying with Air France flight No KL0587 Resa, operated by KLM Royal Duch Airlines.
According to Ojo, about the first week of October 2016, he needed to exchange some Nigerian Naira currency for the United States Dollar currency. As such, he contacted an informal vendor — Leke Adenuga, who after agreeing on the exchange rate, requested that Ojo provide his U.S. bank account for the deposit of the agreed upon U.S. Dollar amount of $9,000. The transaction was consummated, and Ojo eventually received the $9,000 in his Wells Fargo bank account that he had provided Leke Adenuga.
On October 11, 2016 around one month after Ojo had departed the U.S.; around two months after Ojo had opened the account at Wells Fargo bank; and two months after Ojo accessed the proceeds of the wholly legitimate $26,900 check; according to court records, Brian Ancona, an investigator with Wells Fargo bank called Abegunde on his mobile phone — the same mobile phone number Ojo had utilized to open Ojo’s Wells Fargo bank account — stating that a certain Luis Ramos Alonso had inadvertently deposited $9,000 into Ojo’s bank account, and was seeking a reversal of the $9,000 deposit. According to court records, Abegunde told Ancona that the account owner was in Nigeria, and attempted a three-way call to connect Ancona with Ojo. The effort was however unsuccessful. Ojo eventually called Abegunde back, and after Abegunde conveyed Ancona’s urgent message regarding the reversal, Ojo immediately agreed and authorized the reversal of the $9,000 deposit. When Ancona called Abegunde back, Abegunde conveyed Ojo’s agreement authorizing the reversal, and Ancona expressed his profound gratitude for Abegunde’s cooperation in achieving the reversal.
At Abegunde’s bond hearing held on June 25, 2018; under cross examination by Abegunde’s attorney at the time, FBI Special Agent David Palmer – one of the lead case agents – was questioned regarding the bank “account that Mr. Ojo opened using the address of Mr. Abegunde...” Abegunde’s attorney asked “Was there anything illegal about that? Is there anything illegal about using an address, you know, as a point of reference to a bank to open an account?” Agent Palmer responded by saying “No.” (See Document 125: Special Agent David Palmer Testimony, June 25, 2018, PageID 412-413).
At Abegunde’s trial, Abegunde’s attorney tested this position further by expanding the scope of his questioning beyond the legality of granting an individual permission to utilize one’s address to open a bank account. Under cross examination, FBI Special Agent Marcus Vance – the other case agent that investigated the case – was asked “Now, based on a person with specialized knowledge it's not illegal for me to have the pin number of my brother's bank account, is it?” Agent Vance responded by saying “If he shared that with you, yes, I think that would be okay.” Vance further said “Again, as long as we're assuming there's permission, I don't think it would be an offense to use someone else's card with their permission.” (See Document 353: Special Agent Marcus Vance Testimony, March 12, 2019, PageID 3126).
At Abegunde’s trial, the testimony of one of the FBI agents that investigated the case – Special Agent Marcus Vance – corroborates the facts that Ojo’s account was opened August 29, 2016; a wholly legitimate check of $26,900 was deposited into the account on the same day; and that there was no evidence that the check was associated with the July 25, 2016 fraud in particular, or any form of fraud in general.
Under cross examination, Abegunde’s attorney asked Vance “At the time that this account was opened, do you know what amount of money was in that account?” In response, Vance said “There was nothing when it was opened. The first deposit was a roughly $26,000-dollar check.” Abegunde’s attorney then asked Vance “Do you remember approximately what time that would have taken place?” Vance responded by saying “I can check. I believe it was the first day. Flipping forward a few pages, it's August 29th. So the day of, when he set up the account, he deposited his first check.” Pressing Vance, Abegunde’s attorney asked “That check had nothing to do with any sort of data breach or any sort of business e-mail compromise that's related to this case, did it?” Vance answered “Not that I'm aware of.” Further pressing Vance, Abegunde’s attorney asked “In fact, it had nothing to do with anything that you have investigated in this case, correct?” Vance responded by conceding that “I know it was money made out to Mr. Ojo who is affiliated with this case, but I don't know of any other business e- mail compromises or anything like that affiliated with that money.” (See Document 353: Special Agent Marcus Vance Testimony, March 12, 2019, PageID 3121).
According to Ojo, about the first week of October 2016, he needed to exchange some Nigerian Naira currency for the United States Dollar currency. As such, he contacted an informal vendor — Leke Adenuga, who after agreeing on the exchange rate, requested that Ojo provide his U.S. bank account for the deposit of the agreed upon U.S. Dollar amount of $9,000. The transaction was consummated, and Ojo eventually received the $9,000 in his Wells Fargo bank account that he had provided Leke Adenuga.
On October 11, 2016 around one month after Ojo had departed the U.S.; around two months after Ojo had opened the account at Wells Fargo bank; and two months after Ojo accessed the proceeds of the wholly legitimate $26,900 check; according to court records, Brian Ancona, an investigator with Wells Fargo bank called Abegunde on his mobile phone — the same mobile phone number Ojo had utilized to open Ojo’s Wells Fargo bank account — stating that a certain Luis Ramos Alonso had inadvertently deposited $9,000 into Ojo’s bank account, and was seeking a reversal of the $9,000 deposit. According to court records, Abegunde told Ancona that the account owner was in Nigeria, and attempted a three-way call to connect Ancona with Ojo. The effort was however unsuccessful. Ojo eventually called Abegunde back, and after Abegunde conveyed Ancona’s urgent message regarding the reversal, Ojo immediately agreed and authorized the reversal of the $9,000 deposit. When Ancona called Abegunde back, Abegunde conveyed Ojo’s agreement authorizing the reversal, and Ancona expressed his profound gratitude for Abegunde’s cooperation in achieving the reversal.
At Abegunde’s trial, Brian Ancona confirmed that his phone call resulted in the reversal of the $9,000 that was deposited into Ojo's Bank account. Under cross examination at Abegunde 's trial, Abegunde's attorney asked Brian Ancona "And you placed that call to that telephone number... based on the content of that call, it ended up with a reversal of the deposit that had been in that account, correct?" In response, Brian Ancona said "Yes" (See Document 353: Brian Ancona testimony, March 12, 2019, Page ID 3029).
Brian Ancona further said "Mr. Ojo did not protest when I asked if he will return the funds.” (See Document 353: Brian Ancona testimony, March 12, 2019, Page ID 3030). Pressing further, Abegunde's attorney asked Ancona "And based on the information, based on your inquiry, the money was immediately told to be paid back to the person for whatever purpose, right?” In response, Ancona said "within a short period of time, yes.” (See Document 353: Brian Ancona testimony, March 12, 2019, Page ID 3032). Brian Ancona's testimony at Abegunde's trial establishes that Ojo did not hesitate to authorize the reversal of the funds when he became aware that the $9,000 deposit was inadvertent.
Regarding whether Alonso knew the individuals he sent money to, including the funds that were deposited into Ojo’s bank account; the FBI case agent that investigated the case, FBI Special Agent Marcus Vance testified at trial that Alonso did not know these individuals. Under cross examination by Alonso’s attorney, Agent Vance was asked "To your knowledge, is there any indication that Mr. Ramos Alonso knew any of the individuals that the monies were disbursed to?" In response, Agent Vance said "It is my understanding that he neither knew who was sending him the money or who he was sending the money to."
(See Document 353: Special Agent Marcus Vance testimony, March 12, 2019, Page ID 3139).
These testimonies by FBI Special Agent Vance, and Ramos Alonso make it categorically clear that there was no prior contact between Alonso on the one hand; and either Abegunde or Ojo, on the other hand.
In a prison interview with Abegunde, he said he thought at the time that he had engaged in a noble act, and the chapter was closed. Abegunde further said he was however taken aback when early in the morning of March 15, 2017, two FBI agents — Kevin Hall, and Tyson Fowler of the Atlanta Field Division of the FBI — visited his home to inquire about Ojo. According to Abegunde, one of the agents pulled out a copy of Ojo’s Nigerian passport data page, and asked if Abegunde knew the bearer of the passport data page. Abegunde said he confirmed to the agents that Ojo was a longtime friend who he had accommodated during Ojo’s visit to the U.S. in August 2016. Abegunde also said he confirmed to the agents that he had granted Ojo permission to utilize his address and mobile phone number to open a bank account with Wells Fargo bank for the reason that Ojo resides in Nigeria and neither had a U.S. address nor a U.S. mobile phone number. According to court records, as well as the report prepared by the agents, Abegunde and the agents engaged in wide ranging convivial discussions about Abegunde’s remittances business and fraud in general. In these discussions Abegunde vehemently and categorically condemned all forms of fraud.
According to Abegunde, with the benefit of hindsight, two questions by the agents stood out, and should have raised thunderous alarm bells. The questions were asked by agent Tyson Fowler. The first was “How is it that you can afford a place like this.” and the second was “why do you Nigerians like to defraud we Americans.” Also, according to Abegunde, after the second question, Kevin Hall appeared to have an adverse reaction to the question and Fowler ceased going further.
According to court’s record, Abegunde offered the agents his full cooperation by providing them Ojo’s contact information. Furthermore, as we have seen, according to the reports prepared by the agents, Abegunde also ensured that Ojo contacted the agents’ shortly after they departed Abegunde’s home.
According to Abegunde, his decision to hospitably open his doors to the FBI agents, and engage in unfiltered innocent discussion with them — in the absence of competent legal representation — is what led to his undoing.
"In my idealistic naivity, I was merely attempting to make the Agent understand that my business – FJ Williams Inc. – and the FBI had a shared interest in the prevention and elimination of fraud. That is why I told them I ‘was aware of the extent of fraudulent activity that occurred in Nigeria and condemned it.’ Remember, I spoke with Brian Ancona of Wells Fargo just five months prior, and that experience was fresh in my memory. Also, don’t forget that there was a financial crisis in Nigeria around that time, and the Government had stopped providing U.S. Dollars through official channels. So people and businesses that needed U.S. Dollars had no choice but to access U.S. Dollars through informal channels; which is a fancy way of saying the black market, in Nigeria." Abegunde went on "Now consider this, you are in Nigeria, and you need to pay hospital bills in the U.S.; you come across an informal vendor who agrees to sell you U.S. Dollars, and deposit the said U.S. Dollars into your U.S. bank account. I told the agent that there is absolutely no expectation for such a buyer to know the sources of the seller’s funds. I also insisted that if indeed the funds to be deposited into the said U.S. bank account were fraudulently obtained, there is no mechanism available for the buyer to know this. I also vehemently stressed that the buyer – that does not know that the said funds were illicitly obtained – cannot be said to have committed fraud; and that only people that obtain funds fraudulently, and people that undoubtedly know that the funds were obtained illegally are guilty of fraud. What is wrong with that explanation? When you buy dollars from Mallams [black market vendors] in Nigeria, do you ask them where they got the U.S. Dollars from?"
Abegunde continued "I plead with you, go and read the transcript of Agent Kevin Hall’s testimony at trial. He confirmed that I was more informed than him about the remittances business. He also confirmed that I condemned all forms of fraud. Please check the transcript. "
Abegunde concluded by saying "I have been locked up for more than four years because of a harmless conversation with FBI Agents I opened my doors to, welcomed into my home, and fully cooperated with; and also because I granted a long time friend – a man with an unblemished reputation – permission to use my address and phone number to open a bank account."
According to excerpts of the report prepared by the agents regarding their discussions with Abegunde, “Abegunde reported that he was friends with Ayodeji Ojo and that Ojo was a Nigerian banker. Abegunde advised that he was not aware of Ojo’s involvement with transferring money to Nigeria or whether Ojo knew people in California or Texas. Abegunde stated that Ojo was a person with integrity and would not participate in fraud schemes. Abegunde advised that he had spoken with Ojo regarding FJ Williams becoming a money transfer business. Abegunde needed a Nigerian banker to help get a license with the Central Bank of Nigeria. He was trying to make FJ Williams a competitor against Western Union. Abegunde stated that that FJ Williams complied with applicable U.S. anti- money laundering and ‘know your customer’ regulations. According to Abegunde, FJ Williams offered an online wire transfer service that eliminated the need for physical store locations. Abegunde was aware of the extent of fraudulent activity that occurred in Nigeria and condemned it. In Nigeria there was a black market currency exchange that offered better rates than the Central Bank of Nigeria. A Nigerian that needed U.S. currency contacted a seller and paid him in Naira. The seller than contacted an associate in the U.S. who had obtained U.S. currency from U.S. citizens by false information. The associate then deposited the U.S. currency into the Nigerian's U.S. bank account. The Nigerian used the money to pay for things like medical bills. Abegunde was convinced that only the person who first obtained U.S. currency by false information was committing fraud.” (See Document 274: Presentence Investigation Report, PageID 1148, Paragraph 17).
Court records of proceedings at Abegunde’s trial confirmed Abegunde’s claims. Under cross examination by Abegunde’s attorney, FBI Special Agent Kevin Hall was asked "And at the time you said, as you’re talking to Mr. Abegunde, he seemingly had known more about the buying and selling of currency than you did, right? " Agent Hall replied by saying, "that’s correct. " Among other questions, Abegunde’s attorney asked Agent Hall "And Mr. Abegunde was abundantly clear that he’s never directed anybody to put money in any account; and he thinks that might be fraud if it’s taken from somebody inappropriately, right? Let me rephrase the question. Mr. Abegunde told you that fraud is deplorable, right? " In response, Agent Hall said "Yes, he did. " (See Document 353: Special Agent Kevin Hall Testimony, March 12, 2019, PageID 3204).
In an interview, Ojo said “I called them [Tyson Fowler and Kevin Hall] through the telephone and we spoke at length. They told me they would reach out to me if they have any further questions.”
At trial, FBI Special Agent, Kevin Hall corroborated the fact that Ojo persistently called shortly after they departed Abegunde's home. Under direct examination at Abegunde's trial, the prosecutor asked Agent Kevin Hall "Approximately how soon after the visit did he [Ojo] call?" In response, Agent Hall said "The address [Abegunde's address] is located maybe fifteen minutes from our office. As we left, we left our business cards and asked Mr. Abegunde, if he had contact with Mr. Ojo, to go ahead and have him call us. By the time we left his apartment and went straight back to our office, both myself and the other agent had multiple missed calls on each one of our phones; and then as I was standing at my desk, reviewing the phone calls, another phone calls came in. The person who answered the phone identified himself as Mr. Ojo." The prosecutor then asked "And what if anything, was discussed?" Agent Hall responded by saying "I asked him about the Bank of America account, the use of the 1014 Brookwood Valley Circle address, and whether or not he had participated in any fraudulent wire transactions." The prosecutor followed up with the question "Did you learn anything?" Agent Hall then responded by saying "Yes, he said that he indeed used the address to open a bank account, the purpose of which was to receive some money, approximately $20,000. He said that he did get the $20,000; but the bank who sent the money immediately sent the money back, returned the funds, and closed the account." (See Document 353: Special Agent Kevin Hall testimony, March 12, 2019, Page ID 3195-3196).
According to Ojo, in his discussion with the FBI agents, he committed to sending them — via email — Leke Adenuga’s contact information. According to a date and time stamped email provided by Ojo, that was reviewed and authenticated by the author, Ojo indeed sent the FBI agents an email with the subject line ‘‘investigation” to Kevin.Hall@ic.fbi.gov on Thursday, March 16, 2017. The email reads: “Good day Kevin, my name is Ayodeji Ojo from Nigeria. We spoke as it regards illegal money transfer, kindly find below the details of the person that I bought money from Leke Adenuga +2348******677.”
The entire case against Abegunde was centered around an infamous $9,000 transaction. However, according to the record of Abegunde’s case – from the indictment to Abegunde’s sentencing – there is no evidence whatsoever that reflects any link between Abegunde and the $9,000 transaction. Rather, all the evidence on the record points to the fact that Abegunde was neither directly nor remotely connected to the $9,000 transaction. The following pieces of evidence reinforce this fact.
The report prepared by the FBI agents further states that “On the same day, Ojo contacted the case agents and advised that Abegunde had let him know that the agents had stopped by his residence. Ojo stated that he had used Abegunde’s address to open a Wells Fargo Bank account, but not for anything else. Ojo reported that he was not in a business relationship with Abegunde. Ojo would bring things like food to Abegunde from Nigeria. According to Ojo, Abegunde had asked for help with getting a money transmitter license in Nigeria. Ojo reported that he visited the United States for vacations and he was recently in the United States for the birth of his child in El Paso, Texas. Ojo needed U.S. currency to pay for the birth which he received from Leke Adenuga via a wire transfer into his Wells Fargo account from Javier Alonso; however, the bank took the money back and closed Ojo’s account. Ojo advised that he had made similar transactions in the past to pay for medical treatments for his wife. Ojo acknowledged that he had sent money from the U.S. to Nigeria several times in amounts around $10,000, but he did not have details. Ojo stated the money was left over from vacations.” (See Document 274: Presentence Investigation Report, PageID 1148-1149, Paragraph 18).
Alonso’s testimony at trial makes it clear that he did not know Abegunde prior to Abegunde’s arrest and subsequent detention at the West Tennessee Detention Facility (WTDF) in Mason, Tennessee. Under direct examination by Alonso’s attorney, Alonso was asked "When is the first time you saw Mr. Abegunde?" In response, Alonso said "When he [Abegunde] get in Mason, in jail." Alonso’s attorney then asked "Have you ever spoken to him before that?" Alonso responded by saying "No, never." Alonso’s attorney further asked "Had any communication with him whatsoever before that?" Alonso answered " No, not, nothing." Finally, Alonso’s attorney asked Alonso "Did you even know that he existed before that?" Alonso said "No". (See document 334: Javier Ramos Alonso testimony, March 18, 2019, Page ID 2500-2501).
Testimony by Mr. Theodore Vlahkis, an expert witness from the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network; as well as testimony from Special Agent Marcus Vance, make it abundantly clear that Abegunde’s business, FJ Williams Inc. DBA TranzAlert was in full compliance with its regulatory obligations.
The investigation determined that the allegation – that bank accounts operated by Abegunde and Ojo were shutdown on suspicion of fraud – was speculative at best.
At worst, the allegation amounts to deliberate misinformation. The author contacted Bank of America regarding the exact reason why Ojo’s account was closed by the bank. A representative of Bank of America said “either the bank or customer can decide to close a bank account at any time without any prior notice, and without providing any reason.” After pressing the representative further, the representative insisted that the bank “is not under any legal obligation to reveal the exact reason why the bank account was closed.”
The investigation also determined that it is not uncommon for U.S. banks to suddenly and peremptorily close the bank accounts of its U.S. customers in general; and bank accounts of Nigerians in particular, without the banks providing a reason for the bank account closures.
In response to the allegation that his Bank of America account was shut down on suspicion of fraud, Ojo said ''This allegation, like the other allegations on the initial indictment is absolutely false. When Bank of America notified me about closing my account, I was disappointed. But I was also curious about the reason for the closure. I repeatedly asked them ‘why?’ They told me that when I opened the account, I signed an agreement that I or they could close the account anytime without providing a reason. They never told me anything about suspicion of fraud. Also, they released the funds in the account to me via check.’’
At Abegunde’s trial years after the initial indictment was returned, under cross examination, FBI Special agent Marcus Vance testified – regarding the reason why bank accounts associated with the case were closed – that he did not know for sure the exact reason why the bank accounts were closed. FBI special agent Vance said — under cross-examination — that “Typically, the bank does not provide us the reason for closure — it’s a two way relationship. Essentially, the customer or the bank can close or shut down the account at any point. So they don’t necessarily say it was shut down for A and the next time it was B etcetera. They typically just shut it down. The bank has the power to shut down an account, yes. It’s a two way relationship.” (See Document 346: Marcus Vance Testimony, March 15, 2019, PageID 2736-2737). Pressed further under cross examination, Special Agent Vance further said “I am not privy to the bank’s conversations and how they come to their conclusions.” (See Document 346: Marcus Vance Testimony, March 15, 2019, PageID 2807).
As we have seen, the basis for instituting the prosecution against Abegunde was as a result of the $9,000 deposit into Ojo’s account. However, as we have also seen: the evidence at Abegunde’s trial established that there was absolutely no nexus between Abegunde and the $9,000 transaction.
As such, at trail, the government pivoted to Abegunde’s day to day business transactions in an attempt to show that Abegunde engaged in wrong doing. However, according to the record of Abegunde’s trial, none of Abegunde’s business transactions were linked to the fraud that occurred on July 25, 2016 in the Western District of Tennessee or the fraud that occurred around October 3, 2016 in Bellingham, Washington. As a matter of fact, according to the record of Abegunde’s trial, no evidence was found of any link between Abegunde’s business transactions and fraud. In other words, at Abegunde’s trial, the attempt to link Abegunde’s day to day business transactions to fraud failed.
Again, it is worth emphasizing there is no evidence that Abegunde was linked to the $9,000 transaction.
Again, it is worth emphasizing there is no evidence that Abegunde was linked to the $9,000 transaction.
According to court records, over the one year period between when the initial indictment and the superseding were returned – that is between August 24, 2017 and August 30, 2018 in which the application for the warrant to search Abegunde’s home, several court filings, and the bond hearing took place – the lead prosecutor, Assistant United States Attorney Debra Ireland and FBI Special Agent David Palmer continuously utilized false misrepresentations of material facts to justify the prosecution of Abegunde and Ojo in the Western District of Tennessee, where according to U.S. legal provisions, they had no business being prosecuted; and where, according to Judge T Fowlkes Jr, United States District Judge, in the same Western District of Tennessee, Abegunde and Ojo were unlikely to get a fair trial due to their racial heritage.
By far the most consequential allegation on the initial indictment that had far reaching implications for Abegunde and Ojo is the allegation on Count Five of the initial indictment. While neither Abegunde nor Ojo were charged in Count Five of the initial indictment; in Count Five, it was alleged that on July 25, 2016; “Javier Luis Ramos Alonso accepted a $154,371 wire, representing the proceeds of BEC of ‘company A’ in Memphis, TN into his Wells Fargo account ending 7688, and then subsequently deposited the proceeds of this and/or subsequent BECs electronically into account controlled by Ayodeji Olumide Ojo in Atlanta, GA.” (See Document 3: Initial Indictment, Filed August 24, 2017, PageID 17, Count 5).
As we have seen, Ojo had not arrived in the U.S. as of July 25 2016. As a matter of fact, Ojo did not arrive in the U.S. until August 26, 2016. Additionally, Ojo did not open the Wells Fargo Bank Account until more than one month after July 25, 2016. The account was actually opened on August 29, 2016 so as to enable Ojo to deposit the bank of America check. Therefore, it is logically impossible for a bank account – that did not become operational until August 29, 2016 – to have received the proceeds of a fraud that occurred on July 25, 2016; and for which the proceeds of the fraud had been fully disbursed in July 2016.
According to court documents; Ojo’s Wells Fargo Bank Account did not receive the proceeds of BEC of ‘company A’ in Memphis TN on or around July 25, 2016. Rather, the evidence confirms that Ojo’s Wells Fargo bank account received the proceeds of a separate and totally different BEC that did not occur until October 3, 2016 when Ojo had already departed the U.S. This fact is of consequential importance, as it implies that the funds that Ojo received in his Wells Fargo bank account in October 2016 did not originate from, terminate at, or move through the Western District of Tennessee; that is, Memphis Tennessee. (As an aside, according to court records reviewed by the author, from the inception of Abegunde and Ojo’s prosecution till the superseding indictment was returned in August 2018, the prosecutor, AUSA Debra Ireland, and FBI special Agent David Palmer who investigated the case, continued to insist that the proceeds of the Memphis, TN fraud that occurred on July 25, 2016 was received in Ojo’s Wells Fargo bank account).
For a clearer picture, and a better understanding of the issue of venue in Wire Fraud cases; the author contacted the American Bar Association (ABA), who referred the author to an expert attorney on fraud related matters — Mr. Bruce Zagaris, a partner in the Washington D.C. Law firm of Berliner, Corcoran & Rowe LLP. In clarifying and elucidating the issue of venue in Wire Fraud cases, Mr. Zagaris stated that “The United States Constitution, and the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure require that criminal defendants be tried in the district where they committed their alleged crimes.” Mr. Zagaris went on to state that “It is standard procedure in United States law that offenses involving the use of wire transmissions can be prosecuted only in the districts from, through, or into which such wire transmission moves.” Mr. Zagaris further explained that “Courts, including the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit – which sets legal precedents in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee – have held that a plain reading of the law regarding proper venue in Wire Fraud cases shows that venue in Wire Fraud cases is limited to districts where the wire transmission is initiated, terminated, or moves through.”
According to court records reviewed by the author, the $9,000 being the funds that was deposited in Ojo’s Well Fargo bank account in October 2016 did not originate, terminate, or move through the Western District of Tennessee. Rather, all the evidence reviewed by the author indisputably points to the fact that the proceeds of the Wire Fraud that originated in the Western District of Tennessee did not terminate at, or move through Ojo’s bank account in Atlanta, Georgia.
The implication of these established facts is that according to the U.S. Constitution, extant U.S. statutory Laws, and the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, the charges against Abegunde and Ojo ought not to have been inquired of or prosecuted in the Western District of Tennessee. Rather, if indeed actions alleged against Abegunde and Ojo actually rise to the level of the crimes they were charged with; then such a prosecution ought to occur in districts where the $9,000 that was deposited into Ojo’s bank account originated from, terminated at, or moved through.
Judge John T. Fowlkes Jr., United State District Judge for the Western District of Tennessee — the same district where Abegunde was indicted and prosecuted — had raised concerns in court, that were amplified in news reports, that prosecutors in the Western District of Tennessee bring harsher charges against black defendants than white defendants for similar crimes. Judge Fowlkes also raised concerns about racial discrimination — by prosecutors in the Western District of Tennessee — in at least three different cases. https://www.commercialappeal.com/story/news/2018/12/20/racial-bias- racism-court-system-drug-charges/2227118002/
This point is of vital importance because as we have seen, U.S. District Judge John T. Fowlkes Jr. of the Western District of Tennessee – around the time of Abegunde’s prosecution – sounded alarm bells about concerns that race plays an unfair role that negatively affects blacks in prosecutions in the Western District of Tennessee. In other words, according to a serving district judge in the same district where Abegunde and Ojo were charged; Abegunde and Ojo were unlikely to get a fair trial in the Western District of Tennessee.
The lead prosecutor as well as the lead FBI case agents in Abegunde and Ojo’s case may have taken a cue from Judge Fowlkes’ alarm bells. This is because shortly after Judge Fowlkes raised his concerns, according to court records reviewed by the author, AUSA Debra Ireland moved to dismiss charges in a separate case – involving two other Nigerians that are Black, Ademola Adeoti and Gbemisola Akinsanya – that was assigned to Judge Fowlkes’s Court.
Despite all the exculpatory evidence that clearly demonstrates that Abegunde had nothing to do with the $9,000 transaction in particular, or any form of wrongdoing in general; in an effort that completely ignored all the evidence we have seen, the preparer of Abegunde’s Pre-Sentence Investigation Report (PSR) fabricated supposed findings or facts that have no basis in reality. These fabrications had a monumentally damaging impact on Abegunde.
Of the highest significance is the fact that the sentencing court then utilized these fabricated findings or facts as the basis for sentencing Abegunde to 78 months in prison.