Four charged in Deptford ‘Black Money’ scam

DEPTFORD TWP. — Four men have been arrested for allegedly trying to pull a “Black Money” scam at two Deptford hotels. (Photo: Hunter Logan)

The arrests came as the result of a joint investigation by New Jersey State Police from Bellmawr and the Counter-Terrorism Bureau and federal agencies, police said.

On Feb. 4, made the arrests at the Marriott Fairfield Inn and the Residence Inn, both located on Hurffville Road, Route 41.

The four men allegedly attempted to sell black-dyed currency, which they insisted was legitimate United States currency.

The scam is tricky. According to the flim-flam, the cash had been smuggled into the U.S. from Sierra Leone, coated or stamped with the black coloring to hide what it is from authorities for so-called security reasons.

The money is shown to a victim, who is told the black dye can be removed only with a special chemical solution.

The scammers allegedly claimed they had $17 million in black money. To show how it works, they apply chemicals to a few select bills, removing the coloring to reveal genuine U.S. $100 bills, police said.

The victim is asked to put up between $50,000 and $100,000 to purchase the cleaning solution, which the accused would purchase. If the victim pays, he never gets the chemicals and eventually discovers he has a suitcase full of worthless black paper instead of $100 bills.

In this case, police said, the accused scammer asked for $125,000 to clean $250,000 worth of cash.

The four men arrested also allegedly tried to sell 20 purported “blood diamonds — supposed to have been smuggled from Sierra Leone — for $25,000, said police.

NJSP’s T.E.A.M.S. South arrested three men in the Fairfield Inn room without incident. The fourth man was arrested by NJSP and federal officers at the Residence Inn.

Police seized a 2006 Chevrolet Malibu and a 2003 Porche Cayenne.

Mohammed Kaba, 41, also known as Kano Cooper, James Swaray, 40, and Mark Clark, 35, all of Philadelphia, and Hunter Logan, 40, of Staten Island, N.Y., were charged with theft by deception, criminal simulation and conspiracy. All four were born in Liberia and claim to have ties to Sierra Leone.

All four were committed in default of an unspecified amount of bail to the Gloucester County Jail in Woodbury. Bail for Kaba/Cooper and Clark was lowered to $100,000 in court Thursday. Authorities said guidelines for the charges call for bail in he $75,000 to $100,000 range. The men have little or no criminal record, but the high-end bail was imposed because of the detailed precision of the scam and the men’s out-of-the-country contacts.

On Feb. 9, NJSP and FBI executed search warrants on the vehicles, finding black paper, packaged to look like “black money,” in the amount of $1,281,000. Also seized was an amount of chemical solution used to clean the money and identification for three of the men, police said.

The Gloucester County Prosecutor’s Office was contacted and it’s anticipated the vehicles will be seized through forfeiture laws.

Involved in the investigation were the U.S. Secret Service, Department of Homeland Security-Immigration and Customs Enforcement, State Department of Diplomatic Security, the FBI and Deptford police.

Nj.com

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