Alleged ‘sweepstakes’ scammer to be extradited

Hundreds of victims lost more than $900,000, according to appeal court

TORONTO — A man accused of spearheading a scam operation that cost Americans hundreds of thousands of dollars lost his bid on Tuesday to stave off extradition to the United States.

In upholding an earlier ruling, the Ontario Court of Appeal rejected arguments from Harry Cole that his identity as the man wanted on fraud and money-laundering charges was not proved.

Superior Court Justice Nancy Spies had ordered Cole extradited to face trial in the U.S. in June 2019. Cole, known by other names including Akintomide Ayoola Bolu and John King, argued on appeal that Spies was wrong in finding American authorities had established he was the person in question.

The problem, the appeal court noted, was that Cole’s own lawyer conceded more than once during the extradition hearing before Spies that identity was not an issue.

“Even if counsel had not conceded the point on behalf of the appellant, there would be no reason to interfere with the extradition judge’s finding,” the appeal court said.

Cole also questioned the evidence against him provided by the Americans, but the appeal court again found no errors with Spies’ judgment. It noted three people intimately involved in the operation of the alleged scam had pointed the finger at the accused.

Among other things, the witnesses said they had met Cole, repeatedly taken instructions from him, and regarded him as the “prime mover” in the fraud that allegedly operated from 2012 and ’16.

According to the American indictment, Cole and others would send letters to older victims indicating they had won millions of dollars in a sweepstakes or lottery. The letter included a bogus cheque for about $8,000 (U.S.).

The letter instructed targets to deposit the cheque in a personal bank account, immediately withdraw thousands of dollars in cash or money orders, and send the money to a

“sweepstakes representative” in the U.S. to collect on their prize.

By the time the cheque bounced, the alleged scam artists would have received the cash or money order and would then send the ill-gotten gains to Canada or Nigeria.

Documents filed with the U.S. District Court in Texas allege Cole acquired and distributed lists of potential victims, distributed scam letters and fraudulent cheques and created a company in Canada to receive proceeds from the scheme.

Hundreds of identified victims sustained more than $900,000 (U.S.) in losses, according to the filed charges.