A San Francisco man was arrested last week after allegedly duping a Marin County real estate agent and his girlfriend out of $1.6 million by claiming to be the son of the president of the Congo.

Blessed Marvelous Herve, 41, was charged with wire fraud in a federal criminal complaint April 24 and arrested in San Francisco according to U.S. Attorney Melinda Haag.

Herve faces a maximum prison sentence of 20 years if convicted. He made his first appearance in Federal Court in San Francisco on April 25 and remained in custody.

According to court documents filed by the FBI, Herve used a variation of the scam referred to as a “Nigerian Prince” or “Nigerian Letter” scheme, where by an individual claims ties to a wealthy foreign dignitary with fabulous wealth and seeks advance fees for administrative and other costs, promising full repayment of the fees plus bonuses to the victim.

Herve made his first contact with the Marin County real estate agent, when he responded to an advertisement the agent had run for a luxury home in Tiburon late in 2005, FBI Agent Brian Weber said in an affidavit.

Herve claimed to be the son of president of the Congo and was seeking a real estate agent to help him purchase millions of dollars in property in the Bay Area. He told the real estate agent identified only by his initials as “BE” in court documents he wanted to use the agent for these purchases, Weber said.

Herve then told the real estate agent the U. S. government had seized more than $43 million of his assets, and he need the real estate agent’s financial assistance. Over the next three years he told the agent and his girlfriend that he was in federal custody because of the alleged court case and could only communicated by phone.

The real estate agent transferred $635,000 to Herve, who promised to pay back the money as well as bonuses when he was released from custody and the fortune in allegedly seized money would be returned to him, according to court files.

By November 2009, the real estate agent was out of money and unable to meet Herve’s financial demands to support his quest and the agent’s girlfriend began to make payments.

The girlfriend referred to only by her initials of “KW” in court documents began making payments to Herve in 2009. She paid $970,000 through more than 200 wire transfers to Herve between November 2009 and October 2012, according to court documents.

Herve claimed he needed money to pay for expenses incurred during his supposed incarceration. Under Herve’s direction the girlfriend paid $10,000 for medical care while in prison, and $50,000 for court costs and prison transportation.

The real estate agent said Herve seemed credible because he had court documents that appeared to be a criminal complaint on official U.S. Department of Justice letterhead that contained the words “United States of America v. Blessed M. Herve” and the agent believe the documents to be authentic and a part of the claimed court case, according to court documents.

Herve also shared a certificate of Special Congressional Recognition from a member of Congress, an asylum approval letter from the Department of Justice and a birth certificate for his daughter.

The documents and Herve’s knowledge of the Bay Area real estate market made the real estate agent feel comfortable and painted Herve as an upstanding and trustworthy individual, Weber said.

Weber’s investigation of the case showed Herve is not the son of Joseph Kabila, the president of the Democratic Republic of Congo since January 2001 who is also 41, had “no intent or means” to repay his victims, had no court case concerning the alleged seizure of $43 million and was not in federal prison from 2009 to 2012.

Herve was born in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, was granted asylum in the United States in 1999 and became a U.S. citizen in March 2013, according to the affidavit.

He told the real estate agent that he lived in the Four Seasons Hotel in San Francisco. But the agent never saw his room and the hotel has no record of Herve ever living at the hotel, Weber said.

Contact Soren Hemmila at shemmila@marinscope.com.

Article source: http://www.marinscope.com/mill_valley_herald/news/article_8600ce76-b365-11e2-a783-001a4bcf887a.html