Maxi Sopo, originally from Camaroon, Africa, came to the United States around 2003. He used to make his living selling roses in Seattle nightclubs. Apparently that wasn't cutting it so he eventually moved on to bank fraud.
Federal prosecutors say that Sopo and an associate falsely obtained over $200, 000 from banks and credit unions in the Seattle area. Sopo and the associate, Edward Asatoorians, would persuade young co-conspirators to lie about income in order to recieve loans for fake auto purchases. They then used the money for Asatoorians's business and to take a pricey trip to Las Vegas.
Asatoorians was caught and convicted by a federal jury, but Sopo escaped to Mexico when they realized their scheme had been discovered. Since then, authorities have been unable to locate Sopo. They have been periodically checking social networking sites like Facebook and Myspace but with no luck for a long time. Then Secret Service agent Seth Reeg happened to check Facebook one more time and there was Maxi Sopo.
Sopo's profile was private but not his friends list. Reeg started going through the list and stumbled across one friend who was a former Justice Department official. Reeg contacted the friend and explained the situation. The friend was able to provide Sopo's address to authorities and he was arrested last month.
Apparently he had been living a pretty good life in Cancun since running from the U.S. He worked in a hotel and partied and relaxed on the beach all the time.
If Sopo is convicted, he will face up to 30 years in prison.
I love this information age we're in now! It just makes my day to hear stories like this. If there is one thing that irritates me almost more than anything else, it's when people get away scot-free after committing crimes. I love that we're in an era now where everything you do leaves a footprint behind. I've been hearing more and more stories of fugitives being captured with the help of the internet and new software.
When I read the headline for this story (Fugitive busted after accepting friend request) I thought it was going to be a pretty good story. By the second paragraph I was laughing out loud.
Then he did two things that are never a good idea when you're on the run from authorities: He started posting Facebook updates about how much fun he was having — and added a former Justice Department official to his list of friends.
Seriously, how dumb can you get? This guy is on the run from authorities. He's now an international fugitive. What seems like the best course of action?
Maybe lay low and change your name?
Maybe try to head for a country not in cooperation with the country in which you are a criminal?
Maybe NOT open a Facebook account in your real name?
I guess Sopo didn't like or didn't think of any of these options. I find it kind of hard to believe that he could be so dumb considering the intelligence he needed to pull of the scheme he was running in Seattle. Or maybe his partner was the brains of the operation. Whatever the situation, it still seems like Criminal On The Run 101 to not broadcast your whereabouts on the internet.
I guess he just got a little over confident, or all that partying took its toll on his brain cells.
The funniest part of this whole story, to me, is that one of his Facebook friends just happened to be a former Justice Department official. How unlucky can you get? I applaud this guy for helping the U.S. authorities out in catching Sopo.
The only question I still have about this story is this: What, if anything, happened to the "young co-conspirators" that the article mentioned? It hardly seems fair if they get away without punishment, however small a part they played.
In case you don't get to read the full article, I thought I'd post some of the comments and status updates provided from Sopo's Facebook. Just because I think they're kind of funny.
In status updates, Sopo said he was "loving it" and "living in paradise."
"LIFE IS VERY SIMPLE REALLY!!!!" he wrote on June 21. "BUT SOME OF US HUMANS MAKE A MESS OF IT...REMEMBER AM JUST HERE TO HAVE FUN PARTEEEEEEE."
I wonder what his status would have been if he were able to update right at the time he was arrested.
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I definetly agree with you about the era that we are in. As much as it can be helpful, is just as harmful it can be as well. In this story though it was awesome. Like you said, why would you announce your self on a website when you are on the run? Maybe he thought the authorities lived under a rock and didn't know about the internet. I don't know but good thing he was "dumb" so he could get caught.
ReplyDeleteThis just shows that greediness can cut into one's intelligence. Like you said, this guy must have really killed some brain cells to think he could get on a nationwide internet service and not get caught. I agree,it would be hilarious to see a poston the day they arrested him. Maybe "book smarts" are completely different than common sense.
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