The "black money scam" came to Buffalo last week from West Africa. If you're not familiar with it, it's something of a 2012 version of the Emperor's New Clothes. Famous victims of the Nigerian scam include Chelsea Clinton's father-in-law. The scam finds dumb people with excess money and uses their own greed to separate them from it. The one in a Cheektowaga motel last week involved three Liberians and $21,000. This one was rather bizarre as one of the alleged scammers ended up notifying police to save his own life...
The scam is a fraud popularized in the West African nation in which the victim — in this case Omar Clark, 35 — is presented with black construction paper reported to be real U. S. currency that had been dyed black through a chemical process.
The con men —Kromah,; Mohammed Kaba, 42, of Philadelphia; and Yayah Swaray, 32, of Sharon Hill, Pa. — told Clark they needed money to buy another chemical to wash away the black dye and make the currency usable again.
Clark was asked for money to buy the chemical in exchange for half of the black paper. Clark apparently turned over $21,000 to the three scammers in exchange for the black paper, which was really just construction paper with no value, police said.
Then things got interesting. Realizing he had been scammed out of $21,000, Clark told the three scammers he had some friends interested in getting in on the investment. That's when the crooks should have just gotten in their rental car and checked out of the motel.
It was in Buffalo, where Clark and at least three other men confronted the Liberians at gunpoint and demanded his money back. They then beat the hell out of the scammers, tied them up, and threw two of them out of a car on Godfrey Street in Buffalo. They brought the third scammer back to the Motel room where he broke free and called police...
The Black Money Scam, although apparently new in Western New York, has been widely reported in national media after netting several prominent victims, including former Rep. Ed Mezvinsky — the father-in-law of Chelsea Clinton —and a relative of New Orleans Saints linebacker Jonathan Vilma.
In Mezvinsky’s case, ABC reported the former Iowa congressman lost millions due to African money scams — including the Black Money Scam. Mezvinsky eventually served a seven-year prison sentence for fraud.
The only question I have is what did they do with all the black colored money?
4 men charged after Black Money swindle goes awry
One of the best African soccer players of the 90's was Liberian George Weah. He was so popular after his retirement from the game that he ran for President of Liberia, and lost in a very close contest. In his playing days, he often looked like a man competing against boys. The Liberian scammers are probably looking at this post right now, wondering how someone from Buffalo remembers George Weah...Share|
