By Claude Kenfack
Cameronian business mogul and owner of WDC Apart Hotel in Buea, Wilson Daniel Freita Da Costa, has been convicted of wire fraud and aggravated identity theft in a Manhattan Federal Court in the United States.
The court found him guilty of orchestrating a massive fraud scheme amounting to $1.1 billion.
He forged documents that deceived both the Angolan Government and a subdivision of the General Electric (GE) Company.
A unanimous jury found Da Costa guilty Wednesday November 20, 2024, after a two-week trial presided over by US District Judge, P. Kevin Castel.
The scheme, which leveraged fake government documents, led to the disbursement of hundreds of millions of dollars and committed Angola to purchasing expensive equipment it never agreed to buy.
In October 2017, Da Costa, serving at the time as Chief Executive Officer of GE Angola, forged documents on Angolan Government letterhead, falsely claiming the government had agreed to purchase additional GE turbines.
These falsified documents justified payouts from a $1.1 billion GE loan to Angola.
When the scheme was questioned, Da Costa doubled down, continuing to use the fake documents and lying to cover his tracks.
Da Costa received millions in kickbacks from a local Angolan contractor tied to the turbine deals.
United States Attorney, Damian Williams, called the scheme “brazen” and commended the jury’s decision, stating, “Da Costa caused hundreds of millions to be disbursed and committed Angola to unnecessary expenses, all for personal gain.”
Da Costa, 51, faces up to 20 years in prison for wire fraud. He also faces a mandatory minimum of four years for two counts of aggravated identity theft.
His sentencing is set for February 26, 2025.
The case was handled by the Illicit Finance & Money Laundering Unit of the US Attorney’s Office, with support from Homeland Security Investigations.
Da Costa was arrested in October 2023 at the Los Angeles International Airport after he traveled to the US to sell 20 kilograms of gold, according to Bloomberg.
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