Idiotic Criminal Gets Caught Through Facebook Updates,
Part II:
Max Sopo was living the dream of a fugitive abroad, kicking back
on the beaches of Cancun by day, partying in the clubs by
night.
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.
Because of that indiscretion, the 26-year-old native of Cameroon
is now in a Mexico City jail awaiting extradition to the United
States on bank fraud charges. Federal prosecutors say he and an
associate falsely obtained more than US$200,000 (NZ$272,000) from
Seattle-area banks and credit unions.
"He was making posts about how beautiful life is and how he was
having a good time with his buddies," said Assistant US Attorney
Michael Scoville, who helped find Sopo. "He was definitely not
living the way we wanted him to be living, given the charges he was
facing."
Even in the hold-nothing-back world of social networking, where
police search Facebook photos for evidence of underage drinking and
watch YouTube videos to identify riot suspects, it's rare that a
fugitive helps authorities this much. 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."
Sopo, who came to the US in about 2003, made a living selling
roses in Seattle nightclubs until, according to prosecutors, he
moved on to bank fraud. He apparently drove a rented car to Mexico
in late February after learning that federal agents were
investigating the fraud scheme.
Investigators initially could find no trace of him on social
networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace, and they were unable
to pin down his exact location in Mexico.
But several months later, Secret Service agent Seth Reeg checked
Facebook again – and up popped Maxi Sopo.
Although Sopo's profile was set to private, his list of friends
was not, and Mr Scoville started combing through it. He was
surprised to see that one friend listed an affiliation with the
Justice Department and sent him a message requesting a phone
call.
"We figured this was a person we could probably trust to keep
our inquiry discreet," Mr Scoville said.
The former official told Mr Scoville he had met Sopo in Cancun's
nightclubs a few times, but did not really know him and had no idea
he was a fugitive. The official learned where Sopo was living and
passed that information back to Mr Scoville, who provided it to
Mexican authorities. They arrested Sopo last month.
Prosecutors say he masterminded the bank fraud scheme with
Edward Asatoorians, who was convicted by a federal jury in Seattle
last week. Testimony showed the pair persuaded young
co-conspirators to lie about their income to obtain loans for
fabricated auto purchases, and then used the money to prop up
Asatoorians' business.
Asatoorians is expected to face at least five years' jail when
he's sentenced. If convicted, Sopo could face up to 30 years.
— AP
Source:
Linkie
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Dumbasses. 
