From The Vancouver Sun 2008.

Fraud artist kept scams going despite 2006 deportation order
Man got $23,000 cash advances in 12 days by credit card fraud
David Hogben, Vancouver Sun
Published: Saturday, February 16, 2008

A Nigerian fraud artist recently sentenced to five years in prison for a series of identity thefts was first ordered out of Canada in September, 2006.

But Juwon Adebayo, 39, of Coquitlam, avoided deportation when he made a refugee claim the same month.

While the refugee process chugged along, Adebayo, whose U.S. record for fraud stretched back to 1989, lived as a free man in Canada.

He continued to practise his trade.

Adebayo went on to commit a string of identity frauds from his home in Coquitlam, all of them against U.S. residents.

He was sentenced to five years by provincial court Justice Paul Dohm who said there appeared to be little possibility of rehabilitation for Adebayo.

The man's record includes convictions for forgery in 1989 in New York, for fraud, forgery and grand larceny in 1998 in New York and for bank fraud in West Virginia in 1999.

He was sentenced to 30 months in prison, plus three years supervised release. He was also ordered to pay $55,000 restitution for the 1999 conviction.

The U.S deported Adebayo to Nigeria in 2002.

He used a false British passport to come to Canada in June 2003.

There are no public records detailing his actions during his first three years in Canada.

But he was ordered deported in 2006, Canada Border Services Agency spokeswoman Faith St. John said.

The deportation was stalled pending his refugee claim, leaving Adebayo free until his arrest on his new fraud charges in April 2007.

He has been in custody since that time.

Dohm said the prison term was necessary to provide for deterrence and the protection of society.

"Society needs protection from these individuals and their schemes. Denunciation and general deterrence are paramount considerations in determining the appropriate sentence for identity theft criminals," Dohm said in his Dec. 17 judgment in Surrey provincial court.

Adebayo committed his most recent crimes by mail, obtaining fraudulent credit cards for three U.S. citizens, which he had forwarded to mail boxes in the U.S., then to other mail boxes in Canada.

He then used the credit cards to make cash advances.

"Bank of America records show the accused used one of those credit cards to obtain cash advances in excess of $23,000 over a 12-day period."

Dohm noted the government recently increased sentences for frauds as the problem is growing and the difficulties in dealing with them are significant.

"They are difficult to detect, investigate and prosecute, particularly when the victims are from other countries, as was the case here."

He said victims suffer not only financial losses, but also lasting emotional consequences because of the difficulty in protecting themselves from further violation.

dhogben@png.canwest.com