Fake ‘Nathaniel F. McGill’ Uncovered -Uses 419 Scam to Implicate Minister McGill in money laundering

A scheme to implicate the Minister of State for Presidential Affairs, Nathaniel Falo McGill, into money laundering  and to  damage his hard-earned reputation has been unearthed, with one of the fraudsters busted when one of the major cellular network service providers in Liberia alerted Minister McGill that they had unearthed within their system an individual using Minister McGill’s identity but with different number and photograph. It was later discovered that the culprit had attempted using the fake identities purporting to be the Minister to fraudulently ask unsuspecting persons to remit money to a phony mobile money account. The culprit also used another fake working identity card from a non-existing company, the Universal Empowerment Missions, to carry out his nefarious activities.

According to Minister McGill who, realizing the repercussions that such chicanery would impinge on his reputation, immediately alerted the Liberia Telecommunications Authority (LTA) and security agencies through the Ministry of Justice. Minister McGill further said that one of the incidents involved someone who registered a sim card with the number 0881471147 using his (McGill’s) name on the Lone Star Mobile Money platform and has been asking people to remit money to it. In a screenshot shared with this paper, the alleged fraudster was soliciting from people to send LRD4444 to the number and to reference the number 21979.

Minister McGill said he has already filed his complaint to the Liberia Telecommunications Authority, the regulatory institution of the government that regulates and monitors all communication related transactions in the country.  Investigation conducted by this paper also revealed that indeed the name of Minister McGill is registered on the fraudster’s sim card and the remittance platform of the Lone Star GSM network.

The second incidence, the fraudster also used Minister McGill’s name on a fake identification card of a non-existent company, Universal Empowerment Missions, with the designation as a Monitoring and Evaluation (M& E) officer with the company which according to its address, is located in Kpelle Town, ELWA Community, Paynesville. The exhibits of the perpetrator are presently in the possession of the state security through the Ministry of Justice, according to Minister McGill.

The soft-spoken State Minister who said he is not sure if the alleged criminals have succeeded in defrauding people using his name, was taking the action to arrest the incidents immediately so as to avert the intent of those behind the far reaching scam.

A top Liberian security official said such fraudulent attitude of such as is being rampant in other countries where high profile politicians, business people and celebrities are targeted will not be tolerated in Liberia and as such efforts will be made by security forces to bring to book the fraudster that is targeting Mr. McGill in order to damage his hard earned reputation and that of this government.

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