Oya read this story below and tell us why a former congressman should fall mugu for wash-wash.

Open your mouth and tell us that this guy is a 'victim'

Yeye dey smell

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Father of Chelsea's Boyfriend in Prison for Fraud, Scams

December 08, 2006 9:59 AM


Brian Ross and Joseph Rhee Report:


If reports are true that Chelsea Clinton and her boyfriend Marc Mezvinsky are considering marriage, the father of the groom won't be able to attend the wedding until he is released from prison in November 2008.


Ed Mezvinsky, a former Iowa Congressman, is serving a seven-year sentence for fraud after getting caught up in a series of Nigerian e-mail scams.


Initially, Mezvinsky became the victim of "just about every different kind of African-based scam we've ever seen," federal prosecutor Bob Zauzmer told 20/20 for a report to be broadcast this evening.


But then, says Zauzmer, Mezvinsky began to steal from clients and even his own mother-in-law to raise the money to try yet another scheme.


"He was always looking for the home run. He was always trying to find the business deal that would make him as wealthy as all the people in his social circle," said Zauzmer.


After leaving Congress, Mezvinsky moved to Philadelphia's Main Line suburbs with his wife Marjorie Margolies, a former television reporter, who won a seat in Congress herself.


"They were seen as people of means; they were a legitimate power couple," said Gar Joseph, a political columnist for the Philadelphia Daily News.


The Mezvinkskys were also close to Bill and Hillary Clinton and were frequent guests at White House state dinners.


Prosecutors say Mezvinsky used his connections to the Clintons and his son's social relationship with Chelsea to persuade people to give him money to participate in the scams.


Mezvinsky traveled to Nigeria numerous times and ultimately lost more than $3 million as a victim of the scammers.


Prosecutors say Mezvinsky fell particularly hard for what is known as the "black money" scam. Victims are told millions of dollars have been coated with black ink so the money could be smuggled out of Nigeria.


The scammers then offer to sell a special, expensive chemical to remove the black ink so the currency can be used.


Prosecutors say Mezvinsky fell for at least three separate "black money" schemes that he thought would bring him millions.


Mezvinsky declined requests sent to him in prison to speak with ABC News and also instructed his lawyer not to speak with ABC News. His wife, Marjorie Margolies, declined to comment "in the interest of the children

Ole barawo Jankoriko tiffu tiffu!

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i dont know ooo. as rich as he was already, the ting no gree am!! abeg joo. im just saying that the description of lagos was totally uncalled for. if ur report is about 419, why are u saying all these nasty things about the place? did we decide to watch the show to find out if the weekly income is 1 dollar? abe jo

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GRACIAS VERY MUCHO!!!!!!!!

Saw that and could not believe my eyes.

http://forums.go.com/abcnews/2020/th...hreadID=491066



Iheoma374An insulting story - PLEASE write 20/20 directly to address this
Posted: Dec 09, 2006 12:11 AM reply

1 Posts
Registered: Dec 08, 2006 11:59 PM


I am Nigerian American and I found tonight's story about Nigerian scammers to be insulting in tone and content to the MILLIONS of Nigerians and Nigerian-Americans who are not now and have never been criminals. I wrote a long letter, directly to 20/20 (which can be sent directly from this website- but not here on the message boards) about the blatently negative an unbalanced racial and negative stereotypes in tonight's piece.

I do not in any way find the behavior of the Nigerians in tonight's story to be acceptable. It is just plain wrong. But as a college educated Nigerian American who has three college educated sisters, one college educated brother, a medical doctor as a father, a college educated (doctorate level) mother, two college professor uncles and many, many more educated, law-abiding relatives and Nigerian friends I found this story unacceptable.

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE write 20/20 directly to address this problem. Stories like this will keep airing until we start saying that this type of racism is unacceptable. I plan on sharing the story with all of my friends and family and will encourage everyone to get involved to get ABC to address the unbalanced and biased nature of this story.

Iheoma



NoMoreRoom Re: Re: An insulting story - PLEASE write 20/20 directly to address this reply
Posted: Dec 09, 2006 01:19 AM
3 Posts
Registered: Dec 09, 2006 Deport ALL ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS AND ESPECIALLY CRIMIINALS.

NO MORE ROOM AND TIRED OF SCAM ARTISTS AND CON GAMES.

AND PAYING FOR COURT COSTS FOR ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS AND SCAM ARTIST.

IF IT IS A SPADE- IT IS A SPADE- PERIOD.

MORE ARE THAN ARE NOT- I AM SURE.



thankewe Re: Re: An insulting story - PLEASE write 20/20 directly to address this reply

A lot of scam emails come from Nigeria, that isn't something 20/20 made up. I know because I get at least 5 of those emails per week but I think people do realize that not all Nigerians are criminals. If you want to talk about racism what about that music video they showed, Nigerians singing about how they scam dumb white Americans.

The Scammers
Posted: Dec 08, 2006 08:49 AM reply

1 Posts
Registered: Dec 08, 2006 08:31 AMI was able to see the report you aired on the scammers from Nigeria mainly during the week. It was a very shameful thing to watch the t.v for news and seeing my country been labelled because of some irresponsible individuals. I am a Nigerian and by no means am I in agreement or support with the "thiefs." At the same time, the scammers are not the only criminal at fault in this issues. I believe that those that fall to the trap of the scammer are "thiefs" as well. They are looking to reap from where they do not sow. It surprises me that they even have the gutt to come out on a national t.v with no shame of attempting to be rich over night without working for it.
The blame should not go totally to the scammers but to the people seeking to hit fortune without working for it. There is a popular saying in my langugage that "the person who steasl a piece of gold is not the thief, but the person that agreed to buy it from him/her." In this vein, all the people caught in this actions/deals should be considered the scammers. They are all seeking to reap where they have not sowned. And I commend 20/20 for tracking the scammers down. They need to stop bringing shame to the name of my nation. I love Nigeria and not all Nigerians are scammers. We have loyal, faithful and honest Nigerians here in the United states and back home. At the same time people should stop looking for overnight fortune.
Thanks.



thankewe Re: Re: The Scammers reply
Posted: Dec 08, 2006 02:56 PM
208 Posts
Registered: Oct 02, 2004 There is a lot of truth in what you say. I don't blame the Nigerians, I blame the greedy people who respond to their emails (honestly do people really think a stranger from another country is going to send them millions of dollars?) No one has ever heard the saying "if it's too good to be true it probably is"? If people stopped reading these email scams and falling for them them maybe they would stop (but I would not hold my breath waiting for that to happen).




emorgan11 Re: Re: The Scammers reply
Posted: Dec 08, 2006 07:09 PM
1 Posts
Registered: Dec 08, 2006 These scams have been going on for years with the never ending warnings about them. A few bad people in Nigeria perpetrate these scams. As for the people who get stung, don't complain; the warnings about them have been out there for years. Learn to seek out the information about them. Learn how to use the delete button on your e-mail program.

Remember.....
If it sounds too good to be true, it usually is.



naijaryder Re: Re: The Scammers reply
Posted: Dec 08, 2006 07:31 PM
1 Posts
Registered: Dec 08, 2006 Directly or indirectly, what you are doing is tarnishing the image of a third world country. Everyone’s eyes are open, why tarnish an entire country over what a few criminals do? By the way, if you did some research, you would know that Nigerians do not celebrate scammers. Now you can spend more time telling the stories of the millions of children dying of AIDS because the big pharmaceutical companies in the developed world cannot spend time to share the education and infrastructure needed to end the AIDS epidemic in Nigeria. There are more pressing issues to discuss. Nigeria as a country works hard to deal with these scammers; we do not by any means tarnish the image of the Unites States as a whole. Work very hard not to tarnish the image of any country. Thank you.



luv2020grl Re: Re: The Scammers reply
Posted: Dec 08, 2006 10:42 PM
6 Posts
Registered: Dec 08, 2006 Exactly of all the stories 20/20 could have featured, instead they decide to make an entire country look like a bunch of thieves. When I know that is not the case. I know people from Nigeria, Ghana, Ethiopia, and other African countries that live in the U.S. They are some of the most honest, hardworking people I have ever seen. Truth be told, they said that is all the know. They work, go to school, raise their kids. And this is the best 20/20 could come with. Please!



thehakman007 Re: Re: The Scammers reply
Posted: Dec 09, 2006 01:13 AM
5 Posts
Registered: Dec 08, 2006 I thank you. Unfortunately, too many tend to believe what they see and hear on the news because they can not independently analyze a situation objectively, but instead trust those who abuse and delude the privilege of reporting the news. I once had a great deal of respect for Brian Ross.



SherrySue1955 Re: Re: The Scammers reply
Posted: Dec 08, 2006 08:03 PM
2 Posts
Registered: Dec 08, 2006 I hate to dispute you but not all the people who were scammed by the Nigerian ring are thieves. I just posted a message about being one of those people scammed. I didn't gain anything out of the deal. I made no money on it and have nothing to show for it but criminal and Federal charges being levied against me. My situation involved helping someone supposedly pay their debts here in the U.S. Supposedly this man was from the U.S. but working with an orphanage in Nigeria. He needed someone to send out traveler's checks to pay his bills here in the U.S. so I was doing the Christian thing by lending a hand. The only thing I got out of the deal was a set of handcuffs and numerous felonies levied against me. I trusted this person which is the only thing I'm guilty of. I didn't ask for anything...I thought I was helping out a fellow Christian and in reality he used me to do his dirty work. He's still running around free and I'm facing possible prison time. So not everyone who gets scammed is a thief.



luv2020grl Re: Re: The Scammers reply
Posted: Dec 08, 2006 10:39 PM
6 Posts
Registered: Dec 08, 2006 Sherry Sue,
Don't play with me. You can help Christians through church. That is what the church was for. So I'm not falling for your naive act. And pray tell of all the Christians right here in America that you could have helped, what made you decide to help a Nigerian that you didn't know? *hearing crickets* Exactly! So cut the crap!



thehakman007 Re: Re: The Scammers reply
Posted: Dec 09, 2006 01:28 AM
5 Posts
Registered: Dec 08, 2006 Your situation is understandable, and the reasons for getting involved are commendable. On the behalf on Nigerians as a whole, I am sorry for the troubles the scam may have caused you. Not everyone who got scammed has the same justification, as seen with the doctor and congressman. Just as those who got scammed for worthy circumstances there are those who got scammed for the unworthy reasons, and just as there were few Nigerians who did the scamming there is a whole nation who’s imaged is tarnished due to an inconsiderate and poorly constructed news special.



luv2020grl Re: Re: The Scammers reply
Posted: Dec 08, 2006 10:37 PM
6 Posts
Registered: Dec 08, 2006 Thank you for stating the Nigerians are not the ONLY criminals! Funny how when the white man commits a crime, he is being scammed. He is the innocent victim. Oh this 20/20 piece is racist and biased in my opinion. I love how the 20/20 reporter says these (nigerians) will get what is coming to them. What about the white people participating in these crimes. What will they get? Oh, I forgot they are innocent and pure! Please! That Dr. put on a good act. Did he really expect the viewers to believe that he thought it was perfectly legal to trade money? C'mon now! I guess when you are white you can get away with anything in this country. And it doesn't help when 20/20 of all news shows has a biased piece like this one.



chikaimpact Re: Re: The Scammers reply
Posted: Dec 08, 2006 11:14 PM
1 Posts
Registered: Dec 08, 2006 It is strange that the scammers were not arrested in america,they were let off the hook like that.if the are not arrested then americans would only have themselves to blame.these people have nothing to loose but victims are commiting suicide,thats murder.America practise what you preach follow Nigerian government example



thankewe Re: Re: The Scammers reply
Posted: Dec 08, 2006 11:25 PM
208 Posts
Registered: Oct 02, 2004 Thank you for stating the Nigerians are not the ONLY criminals! Funny how when the white man commits a crime, he is being scammed. He is the innocent victim. Oh this 20/20 piece is racist and biased in my opinion. I love how the 20/20 reporter says these (nigerians) will get what is coming to them. What about the white people participating in these crimes. What will they get? Oh, I forgot they are innocent and pure! Please! That Dr. put on a good act. Did he really expect the viewers to believe that he thought it was perfectly legal to trade money? C'mon now! I guess when you are white you can get away with anything in this country. And it doesn't help when 20/20 of all news shows has a biased piece like this one
================================================== ====
I don't think people that get scammed are innocent and pure I think they are very greedy and stupid.







thehakman007 Re: Re: The Scammers reply
Posted: Dec 08, 2006 11:45 PM
5 Posts
Registered: Dec 08, 2006 I am a young man and Nigerian none the less, so it might be a surprise to some, as I write about my strong distress with the 20/20 special, “The Nigerian Money Scam”. Never in my life have I ever been so insulted. The term “Nigerian” was used so freely as thou every Nigerian was a participant in the scam.
The special made Nigerian people in general seem greedy, selfish, and untrustworthy. I was especially left with a sour taste in my mouth when one of the Nigerian city was regarded as “a disgrace of a city” and a “desperately poor city”. It is true that many Nigerians do not have and can not afford the simple luxuries of the every day American life but that is no reason to insult their poverty. A city in which I spent most of my childhood, and where many hardworking honest people hang on the brink of survival making the best of what was life has dealt them. One such example of such a person was the police office that arrested his boss for being involved in the “Nigerian money scam”.
There are many hardworking Nigerians here in the United States, Some doctors, accountants, lawyers, taxicab drivers, working hard to earn a living like many other who are not Nigerians. For many Nigerians, especially those in the client relations, and services industry, they will lose a lot of hard earned respect within their communities and industries due to the bad light shined upon their nationality.
As I got to work Monday morning I will not help but think of the distrust many of my clients may have for me since I work at a bank. In addition to working at the bank, I volunteer of at a homeless shelter not in hopes to receiving tax relief or such an underlined reason, but because I have witnessed 1st hand (living in Nigeria) the poverty many are forced into.
The portion of the special that featured the music video, and spoke of the “movie” based on the scam made the light of the matter seem as though the nation of Nigeria wears this unfortunate deceitful event as a badge of honor, which can not be further from the truth. My Nigerians will think twice, before admitting their nationality to an individual in any given situation (a simple conversation perhaps) due to the misguidance of tonight’s special.
I asked that the 20/20 editors go back and review the tape, as well as make apologies for the portions of the video pointed out in this response. Being a young male and Nigerian does not make one genetically predispose to scamming people out of their hard earned money. It is already hard enough living in a country being black and male, one will have a one in five chance of got to jail before the age of 64. For the few Nigerians trying to scam people out of their money there mare many more who not only earn an honest living as well as go unnoticed, but will also now be ridiculed, stereotyped, and prejudged as from to day due to this special.
-Hakeem




bcfinwpb Re: Re: The Scammers reply
Posted: Dec 09, 2006 12:45 AM
2 Posts
Registered: Dec 08, 2006 I guess that I am lucky in the fact that I am too poor to be able to send any kind of money, because that is one of the things that saved me from being caught up in the whole scam con. My scammer did not send the 'get rich quick' email but instead contacted me through the Yahoo messenger as a guy interested in dating me. Since it was the first time I had been contacted by "a scammer" so I believed he was a real person and since they are so great at their art of scamming people his daily chats and nice emails seemed very attentive, which of course kept me interested. It gives you that sense of having something to look forward to. However it wasn't until about 2 or 3 months into this did he start trying his scam on me. Again I say not having any money to spare was part of my saving grace. As we had chatted over the past few months and me believing he was a real person I had told him my address and phone number, of course, I had done so because he because he had said he wanted to send me things to show his love for me. I did not find out or suspect I was part of a scam until I over heard someone talking about their new "online" guy and then someone else joined in and then finding out they all were from Nigieria, then all of the suspicious things I had been ignoring or overlooking started standing out loud and clear. So I scammed the scammer in order to find out if it could all be true. First I set up a new ID and used a alternate name as my name and then I contacted him just to see if he would respond at all, he did of course and I allowed him several emails and chats to really sink himself in the lies. I finally revealed who I actually was, my regret was that none of it was going to be caught on tape or some form punishment would be given.

What I hate out of the whole experience is the time that I wasted with all the chats and reading his emails when I could have been bonding with someone I was really going to eventually meet and spend time with.

For those on the 20/20 staff and for that matter any news media across the nation I applaude ALL of you for finally bring this to the National spotlight. I hope you make it a regular segment on your show until it is known to everyone who ones a computer because so so many still do not know or have a clue this stort of thing goes on by people paid to con them.



bcfinwpb Re: Re: The Scammers reply
Posted: Dec 09, 2006 01:15 AM
2 Posts
Registered: Dec 08, 2006 I also wanted to say that I have been contacted many many many times since and I have found a few threads of commons with each one. First is the broken typed English, they leave out things we take as normal language in the same manner foriegners do when speaking our language. Two the pictures they send us are always of models or goodlooking people that are 'too' goodlooking to be out looking for a date or compaion and the pictures themselves are staged always. You never see the offset of the background curtains waving in the background or bad cam shot with the coffee mug on the table in the shot. I have learned very well how to spot most all the scammers that send me things but again I say there are so many people who have seriously never heard anything about this whole Scam deal and my hope is the word or mouth and more news media keep it in the news until the only people who would fall for it is the same people who fall for junk mail ads!



xdeblee Re: Re: The Scammers reply
Posted: Dec 09, 2006 01:16 AM
1 Posts
Registered: Dec 09, 2006 I received an email from Nigeria last year. I actually received about 2 or 3! I'm not sure if it was forwarded from another email, probably all spam emails anyway. I remember it said something I'm a prince, and my 2 million or whatever amount is in my bank account. It went into my spam inbox. I skimmed through it and I was thinking righttt~ I'm not greedy for money. So I deleted it. T_T There are scammers everywhere not just Nigeria. You just gotta be careful.


http://forums.go.com/abcnews/2020/th...hreadID=490557

i saw this episode last night and i was speechless

the next thing oprah will have it aired on her show then the whole world will see nigerians as scammers

I agree with you.

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...well, ppl can be upset all they want, but the truth remains that eventhough not all Nigerians are scammers, too many Nigerians are scammers. Some of them will scam their own mother any given day let alone a complete stranger.

I have no qualrem with ABC 20/20, nor the victims of the scams, I however blamed those Nigerians that continue to give the country a bad name. If they weren't out ther scamming ppl, ABC would'nt make the story up, would they? They would'nt dare. Many Nigerians are honest, hardworking ppl but they need to expose those bastards that are giving the country a bad name...

so, first step...the 20/20 episode got the story at least 90% right about Nigerians. We all love Nigeria & Nigerians...but it's time for tough love. Let's start calling a spade a spade so the world can see that some Nigerians indeed have dignity.

...already, I'm thinking about calling in sick for Monday morning 'cause I just know every a-hole in that office would be asking me about the 20/20 crap.

I saw that 20\20 story yesterday. Well it is a shame to some of us who are hard working Nigerians, In the eyes of some Americans, Most of us are guilty if the scam. But them they should be ashamed of their fellow country men for being that stupid. It takes a thief to know a thief. Why are those pple so stupid?. Yet this pple where surpose to be the smartest in the world they say. I couldn't stop laughing when they march those Yahoo boys out of the cafe. They look pathetic. We should be talking about those columbian drug lords and the Meths producers and pple from across the borders who are cancerworms of this society.

Please don't. We need you to explain to them in your office that there really are Nigerians not into scam. Wetin dey fear you? Go jo.

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When a graduate is hungry looking for work u think he is thinking about bad name ?????

The country has a bad name simply because there is an immunity clause in the constitution allowing leaders to clean out the national treasury ...if the leaders are thieves then what will u call the followers ???

Hmmmmmmmm, even though this is already OLD NEWS about Nigeria, I'm afraid that no international news being aired about that country HAS EVER BEEN GOOD. I mean, it's been from FRAUD TO SCAM TO ONLY GOD KNOWS WHAT NEXT? What a pity

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I must add that Nollywood is contributing a great deal in changing the image of Nigeria and Nigerians in the world from 419 stories for many people. There is such a positive view of Nigeria/ns from Americans, other Africans from the continent, and West Indians who watch these movies religiously. It is a powerful tool that can be used to do a lot of good for Nigeria and her image.

While I think that it is wise to write letters to 20/20, I also think that Nigeria should grow what we as African people can control - our own images through movies. That is the genius and magic which is called Nigeria's Nollywood. Time will solve a lot of these problems if Nigerians work at the single goal with discipline and committment, and not let naysayers take control of their minds.