Pastor Eric Abakporo |
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has confirmed reports linking Nigerian Pastor Eric Abakporo, who is also a lawyer based in New York to “despicable” fraud: the theft of the life savings of an elderly African-American woman through deceit and lies.
Pastor Eric Abakporo of Deeper Life Bible church and a cohort, Latanya Pierce, were arrested for swindling the 78 year-old woman and stiffing a bank with a phony $1.8 million mortgage loan.Pastor Abakporo was arrested on Monday in Queens, NY, while Pierce surrendered voluntarily.
According to New York State Attorney General, Eric Schneiderman, “Through lies and deception, these individuals abused the trust of an elderly woman in order to perpetrate a multimillion dollar fraud. Now that their despicable scheme has been exposed, they will face justice.”
The story behind the current FBI charges began in March 2006 when Abakporo cultivated a relationship with the victim who owned a Harlem apartment building. He offered to help her collect rents but actually, he pocketed them.
The two men then persuaded the woman to sell her property for $3.1 million, giving her multiple fake and fraudulent checks which they later took back, promising to give her a “private mortgage” in the property. After weaving a web of lies around their actions, the two swindlers brought their act to a local bank, claiming they owned the building “free and clear”. For this lie, they obtained a $1.8 million mortgage which they failed to repay.
Ultimately they obtained all of the elderly woman’s assets and $1.8 million by defrauding the bank.
Charges against the two include multiple bank and wire fraud which together carry a maximum prison term of 100 years behind bars. Abakporo is currently cooling his heels in detention until payment of a $1 million bond secured by an interest in property co-signed by three people and secured by two properties.
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