- Saheez Azeez, 33, landed in the UK with a tale of escaping Boko Haram’s clutches, but instead, he cooked up a slick fraud network, leaving 272 victims in his wake.
- In the courtroom, Azeez reportedly owned up to conspiring for fraud by false representation and scheming to acquire criminal property. Now, he’s looking at a potential six-year stint behind bars
A Nigerian scam artist Saheed Azeez snagged UK refuge, spinning a tale of persecution in Nigeria for being gay. Post-arrival, he played a prolific game, fathering three kids with three British women. Now, he’s in cuffs for orchestrating a £220,000 Facebook and eBay parcel fraud hustle.
Azeez, initially an asylum seeker, settled in the UK, citing persecution by Boko Haram. He had three children with three women, marrying the third, and now identifies as bisexual.
Having settled in Wigan, Greater Manchester, Azeez teamed up with Nigerian fraudsters to craft a ‘sophisticated and well-resourced’ sales scam, targeting items on eBay, Facebook Marketplace, and WhatsApp.
According to the report, individuals selling high-value items were convinced to dispatch their goods to various addresses, promised payment upon arrival. However, Azeez would, in reality, collect the items and sell them in his brother’s electronics shop.
In a span of 14 months, as many as 272 victims dispatched goods totaling £220,000 to unfamiliar residences, lured into the scam by Azeez. He incentivized his ‘partners’ with a share from each sale in exchange for receiving the wrongfully obtained items.
Police later tracked down Azeez while he was dropping off one of his young sons at a primary school. As authorities were about to apprehend him, he allegedly concealed three smartphones used in the scam inside the boy’s school bag. These were later discovered by a teaching assistant.
The phones contained videos created by Azeez, including one sent to an underworld contact named ‘Baddest Boy,’ featuring images of pilfered used smartphones from sellers.
Azeez confessed to conspiracy to commit fraud by false representation and scheming to possess criminal property during proceedings at Bolton Crown Court.
Scheduled for sentencing next week, Azeez could potentially face up to six years behind bars. Additionally, nine individuals who permitted their addresses to be utilized as ‘drops’ in the scam are set to face sentencing next year.
The scam unfolded from September 2020 to November 2021, initiated by Azeez, a former Yodel delivery driver, who started offering ‘delivery services’ through his own company for online fraudsters.