Nigerian defrauded by American in Green Card scam

CC™ Investigative

A Nigerian businessman, Mr. Olukayode Sodimu, on Friday told an Ikeja Special Offences Court how an American and alleged serial conman, Marco Ramirez, defrauded him of $145,000 in a Green Card scam.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that Ramirez is accused by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission of defrauding five Lagos-based Nigerians of $1.5M.

Ramirez faces two separate criminal suits at the Special Offences Court.

He is standing trial alongside his companies - USA Now LLC, Eagle Ford Instalodge Group LP and USA Now Capital Group.

In the first suit, the American is accused of allegedly defrauding two Nigerians - Gabriel Edeoghon and Oludare Talabi of $388,838.

In the second suit, he allegedly defrauded three Nigerians- Amb. Godson Echejue, Mr. Abubakar Umar and Sodimu of $1.2M.

While being led in evidence by Mr. M. F. Owede, the EFCC's Prosecuting Counsel, Sodimu, told the court that he first got to know Ramirez and his company in 2013 through an advertisement in a national newspaper for an Employment-based Fifth Preference (EB-5) American Investment programme.

"The advert in the paper said that USA Now LLC was the regional centre for the EB-5 Investment Programme and that one could invest $500,000 in it.

"It stated that by investing $500,000, the investor and his children under 21-years of age will be issued a U.S. Green Card, which implies permanent residency in the U.S."

Elizabeth Warren's wealth tax: Bill Gates says the draconian tax would leave him 'counting his change'.....

Philanthropist Bill Gates

By Samuel Osborne

Bill Gates has criticised Elizabeth Warren’s proposed wealth tax, claiming it left him doing “a little math about what I have left over”.

The Microsoft founder and billionaire spoke about the Democratic presidential candidate’s plan at The New York Times DealBook conference on Wednesday.

“I’ve paid over $10bn [£7.8bn] in taxes. I’ve paid more than anyone in taxes,” he said. ”If I had to pay $20bn, it’s fine.

“But when you say I should pay $100bn, then I’m starting to do a little math about what I have left over.”

He added: “Sorry, I’m just kidding.”

Ms Warren has proposed a 6 per cent tax on wealth above $1bn.

Asked if he would speak to Ms Warren about her tax plans, he said: “You know I’m not sure how open minded she is.

“Or that she’d even be willing to sit down with somebody who has large amounts of money.”

Mr Gates also said he would not make “political declarations” about who he would vote for if the choice was between Donald Trump and Ms Warren.

“But I do think no matter what policy somebody has in mind, a professional approach is even – as much as I disagree with some of the policy things that are out there, I do think a professional approach to the office – whoever I decide would have the more professional approach in the current situation probably will weigh. That is the thing that I will weigh the most.

“I hope the more professional candidate is an electable candidate.”

Ms Warren responded on Twitter, saying she would be happy to meet with Mr Gates to “explain exactly how much you’d pay under my wealth tax”.

She added: “I promise it’s not $100bn.”

Mr Gates is worth an estimated $107bn, according to Bloomberg.

Last week, Ms Warren revealed how she would fund her controversial Medicare for All plan, insisting ordinary Americans would not pay “one penny” extra in taxes.

Source: The Independent

Bill Gates' critical key to success: Delegate and replicate yourself in the process.....

Bill Gates

By Marcel Schwantes -Founder, Leadership From the Core

Bill Gates has had plenty to say about achieving success over the years. The co-founder of Microsoft, an avid reader of about 50 books a year returned to his alma mater, Lakeside School, to help celebrate the prep school's 100th anniversary.

Speaking to high schoolers about what type of mindset is required to build your own success, Gates offered up plenty of great advice, including having an unquenchable desire to learn and a sense of wonder and curiosity about how things work.

Gates said, "For the curious learner, these are the best of times because your ability to constantly refresh your knowledge with either podcasts or [online] lectures is better than ever."

The top takeaway that I found useful for entrepreneurs juggling intense workloads and schedules came from an early lesson Gates had to learn: delegation.

In the early days of Microsoft, Gates recalled, he was doing what he had been most passionate about since the age of 13--writing software. He would do most of the code and edit most of other people's code. But he knew his obsession with programming wasn't sustainable if the company was to scale, so he chose to trust in other people's coding skills and let go of the rein.

As the company grew, he had to delegate what he knew to be one of his weaknesses since he was a kid to other people's natural strengths. In this case, it was people management. 

Being that it is the job of any leader to navigate the human side of the business, Gates brought in the exuberant Steve Ballmer, who "really liked people and management," says Gates. Ballmer took the helm as chief executive officer of Microsoft from 2000 to 2014. 

The very act of delegating alone doesn't work. Having a great team in your corner is the first pillar to successful delegation for a leader. And two-way trust must be established for a leader to feel comfortable delegating and sharing responsibilities.

If you're a reluctant leader unwilling to let go of control, look at the upside: Filling up your employees' plates with shared and delegated work will make you a resource, a mentor, and put you in a position to facilitate coaching conversations that will build the trust you need to strengthen ties with team members. 

While some level of patience is required, delegating tasks effectively leads to employees feeling useful, empowered, and integral to the functioning of the organization.

On the flipside, in micromanaged environments, the work is scrutinized to the last detail. The environment can be stifling because control-freak-managers want to oversee and have the final say in all the decisions.

In such a psychologically-overwhelming setting, there's hardly room for group discussion or input to foster healthy collaboration. Loyal workers trying to find meaning in their jobs are left with nothing but taking their marching orders. In the end, this crushes the spirits of people and is bad for business.

Nigerian appointed California oil and gas supervisor

California Governor Gavin Newsom

CC™ News

California Governor, Gavin Newsom, has appointed a Nigerian, Uduak-Joe Ntuk, as the State Oil and Gas Supervisor, responsible for managing the Division of Oil, Gas and Geothermal Resources (DOGGR).

DOGGR uses science and sound engineering practices to regulate the drilling, operation and permanent closure of energy resource wells.

The division prioritises protecting the public and the environment in its oversight of the oil, natural gas and geothermal industries within the largest state in America.

A statement from the governor's office said that Ntuk had served as the Petroleum Administrator for the City of Los Angeles, the second-largest city in the United States of America.

"In Los Angeles, he was responsible for oversight and policy of oil fields, gas storage facilities, petroleum refineries and pipeline franchise agreements.

"Prior to joining the city of Los Angeles, he had worked for several companies, including Tyco, General Electric and Chevron.

"Being a technical professional with both public and private sector energy experience, he provided technical advice to the Mayor, City Council, and various City Departments," said the governor's office.

It added that Ntuk, a strong believer in Nigeria and its potentials, had expressed his will to share his expertise to further develop the Nigerian petroleum industry and the possibilities of building a mutually-beneficial relationship with the state of California.

"A Nigerian-based Oil and Gas Consulting Company is exploring the possibilities and has initiated discussions regarding building a business relationship between the Nigerian oil and gas industry and the state of California through Mr Ntuk.

"He is the first Nigerian-American to hold this position in California's history and his family is from the Port City of Calabar, Cross River State," said the statement.

The Seahawks should consider replacing Ken Norton Jr with Dan Quinn.....

Ken Norton Jr is great with linebackers but struggles as a DC

By Lee Vowell

The Seahawks might need to make a change at defensive coordinator. Atlanta might fire their head coach. One plus one might make two.

It is easy to look back with on Dan Quinn’s time as defensive coordinator for the Seahawks and think he was a great coach. He was a good coach for the defense, but he also had players like Richard Sherman, Kam Chancellor and Earl Thomas young and hungry. Quinn was the defensive coordinator for Seattle from 2013 through 2014, back-to-back Super Bowl years.

Ken Norton Jr. is well-liked by coach Pete Carroll. Norton is the current defensive coordinator for Seattle and has been since 2018. Norton Jr. was the linebackers coach in Seattle from 2010 until 2015 before he left to become the coordinator with the Raiders. To be fair, Norton Jr. does not have the same kind of talent on his defense as Quinn did on his when he was in Seattle.

But a good coordinator will make the pieces of his defense better as a whole. And Seattle has struggled the last two seasons. The most glaring statistic is yards-per-play given up. There is probably a really good reason both the Patriots and 49ers are unbeaten. This year, the Patriots and 49ers are tied at first in the NFL giving up just 4.1 yards-per-play.

The last ranked teams in the league in the same category? That would be the winless Bengals (32nd at 6.6) and the winless Dolphins (31st at 6.5). Guess who is 30th? That would be the Seattle Seahawks giving up 6.2 per play. And this is actually worse from last year when Seattle was 25th in the NFL allowing 5.9 yards-per-play.

In 2017 during Kris Richard’s last year as defensive coordinator, Seattle ranked fifth in the NFL giving up 4.9 yards-per-play. That same season Norton Jr.’s Raiders were 27th in the league at 5.6 per play. In 2016, the Raiders were last in the league and in 2015, Norton Jr.’s first year in Oakland, were 11th. This means that Oakland’s defense actually got worse during Norton Jr.’s time there.

Still, Norton Jr. is excellent teaching linebackers. He has been since he coached that group under Pete Carroll at USC. In the NFL Norton Jr. has almost always had a good group at linebacker, the position he played in the NFL himself. But it is the rest of the defense he struggles with.

Quinn’s record has been getting worse since the Falcons lost the Super Bowl to the Patriots at the end of the 2016 season. Atlanta has one win this year and Quinn is likely to be fired by the end of the year. He might not find a head coaching job right away. But he is a good defensive coach, it might just be the rest of the team he struggles with.

In 2013 and 2014, the Seahawks ranked first in yards-per-play in the NFL, both seasons Quinn was head of the defense. But even between 2015 and 2017, the lowest Seattle ranked was fifth. Maybe Seattle starting losing defensive players, but did they really go from fifth in the league to 25th in one season? Maybe it is the coach calling the defensive plays and the scheme.

What would be great to see, though I have no hopes that it will, would be for Carroll to rehire Quinn as defensive coordinator for the 2020 season and have Norton Jr. move back to coaching the linebackers. Likely, Norton Jr. wouldn’t be able to get a coordinator’s job elsewhere and Quinn won’t be hired as a head coach. But they are both great fits for the Seahawks and would help make the defense very good again.

Source: 12thmanrising.com

Fall from grace: US court remands Invictus Obi till February 2020

Disgraced Obinwanne Okeke

CC™ News

An American court this week remanded a Nigerian, Obinwanne Okeke in prison custody till February 2020 over a case of alleged fraud.

Okeke, popularly known as Invictus Obi, was arraigned on two counts of wire and computer fraud.

According to Reports, the presiding judge, Douglas Miller at the Newport News, Virginia, federal courthouse, declared the case as "complex," but said Okeke should be remanded in prison until February 18, 2020 when the trial would continue.

Okeke appeared in court at 2:00 p.m. according to the court schedule of Judge Douglas Miller for Monday, 9th -Monday, 23rd September 2019 at the Newport News, Virginia federal courthouse on their website.

Okeke is up against the United States of America in case 4:2019 cr 84.

It was reported that Okeke had a week earlier appeared before a federal grand jury, who examined the evidence gathered by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the United States Department of Justice.

He was found guilty and recommended for trial.

The jury further said that should Okeke be convicted, he should forfeit at least $11 million in asset and an emerald shaped diamond engagement ring found on him when he was first arrested by federal agents as he was about leaving the US on August 6.

South Africa crush sorry England to win Rugby World Cup

CC™ Global Sports

The Springboks defeat England in the final while imposing their physical will on England and thus claim a third title with a 32-12 victory, equalling New Zealand as the only countries to win the World Cup three times.

The Springboks scored two second-half tries through Makazole Mapimpi and Cheslin Kolbe. Fly-half Handre Pollard was lethal with the boot as he kicked two conversions and six penalties.

England was never in this game and as the match progressed, the only question was that of how much the Springboks would win by, not if they would win.

It was a befitting finale to a glorious competition that has increasingly gained ground among the worlds top global sports events.

Here are the highlights of a well deserved victory for the South Africans:

My wife won't cry if I'm shot -Trump.....

CC™ Politicourse

President Donald Trump has said that his wife of 14 years, Melania, wouldn't cry if he got shot in an assassination attempt. 

Online medium, Politico, reports that the President spoke in Washington at a dinner for some Republican heavy weight fundraisers.

Together, Trump and Melania are parents to 13-year-old boy, Barron.

"The president made the prediction during a private fundraiser on Tuesday night, where he was pondering the 2017 congressional baseball shooting in which several people were shot, including House minority whip Steve Scalise," says the medium.

While discussing Scalise's injuries, Trump noted the way his (Scalise) wife reacted to his injuries.

"She cried her eyes out when I met her at the hospital that fateful day.

"I mean, not many wives would react that way to tragedy, I know mine wouldn't," Politico quotes the President to have said.

In addition to Mr Scalise, several others were hit by bullets during the 2017 shooting in Alexandria, Virginia. The others injured were congressional aide Zack Barth, lobbyist Matt Mika, and US Capitol Police officer Crystal Griner.

Why Suze Orman may be more sizzle than steak

CC™ Investigative

Rogue police officer resigns after murder of black woman in her home

CC™ Breaking News



A Dallas Fort Worth police officer, Aaron Dean, who supposdely would have been fired on Monday, has resigned according to Fort Worth Police Chief, Edwin Kraus.

"Had the officer not resigned, I would have fired him for violations of several policies including our use of force policy," said Kraus. "Despite his resignation, the officer still faces criminal charges from the major case investigation."

"Had the officer not resigned, I would have fired him for violations of several policies including our use of force policy," said Kraus. "Despite his resignation, the officer still faces criminal charges from the major case investigation."

This is becoming a common theme particularly under the Trump administration, as the climate of overt racism created by the current occupant of the White House is seen by rogue cops within the various police departments across the United States, as a license to brutalize "people of color." 

A nation that allows the routine murder of its own people naturally lacks the moral right to accuse other nations of violating the rights of their citizens. That is why the GOP Senators and other so-called conservatives need to seriously look in the mirror before pointing fingers at China and other countries they view as "human rights violators."