US-based Nigerian auto dealer, Adesuwa Ogiozee of Renee Auto has narrated her ordeal in the hands of the dreaded Federal Bureau of Investigation, FBI, one of the greatest law enforcement agencies in the world. A few months ago, Ogiozee was arrested by the US authorities over allegations bordering on wire fraud, conspiracy and romance scam. At the heart of the controversy was a car sale which was bought by a customer who defrauded an American woman and used the proceeds to purchase a car from Ogiozee’s auto shop. For over three years, Ogiozee was prosecuted for an offense she knew nothing about. Reprieve came her way recently when her case was dismissed by the US authorities. She was able to prove her innocence and got all the charges against her dismissed. In this exclusive, Ogiozee opened up on her three years ordeal in the hands of FBI, plus how she managed to weather the storm. She also spoke about how she was bullied online by some Nigerian bloggers who peddled untrue stories about her ordeal and damaged her reputation online. Enjoy the excerpts.
1. Can you tell us a little bit about your background and how you became a successful auto dealer in the US?
Answer: My dad brought me and my other siblings to America to come study. We never truly understood how great the opportunity was until after school my first car was stolen from the parking lot. My dad, being in the ministry, prayed that the car would be brought back. Days later, my car was actually brought back. It was a miracle. I got scared driving such a car. That was when my mom asked me to ship it to Nigeria, without me even knowing what the outcome would be. Let’s just say since then, car sales became a thing for me, as the car was sold even before it got to Lagos.
2. How did you build your reputation as the “Auto Queen” and what does that mean to you?
Answer: I was able to build a reputation as the Auto Queen because I made a conscious decision earlier on to do things differently. Everyone else was busy going for those cars they could make a profit off—the auction cars. But I decided to deal strictly with clean title cars only. That set me apart from others, where any car we deliver instantly has credibility as a clean title, more valuable car.
3. Can you describe your experience when you were arrested and charged with wire fraud and conspiracy?
Answer: Being arrested as someone who grew up in a Christian home and has always had a great upbringing was devastating to me and my parents. We are still traumatized about all that happened. My parents are yet to recover from this, especially since I am innocent as we can all see now. I have a very clean record and have never had any issues with the police. The only way I survived this was by constantly telling myself it was a dream, and somehow I would eventually wake up from that nightmare. But unfortunately, it lasted three years. All thanks to God for seeing me through. My parents also had to come to be with me all through it, which was very helpful too.
4. How did you maintain your innocence throughout the ordeal?
Answer: I knew all through that I did not discuss crime with anyone, much less partake in it. This situation was very strange because we did not even really know who this customer was. I have dealt with thousands of customers over the years, so for someone to randomly ask about one from eight years ago, from an online sale where we did not get to meet our customers, was really strange. Like they say, “Clear conscience fears no accusation.” That kept me going, knowing it was only going to take time, but the truth would set me free. I also saw it as a blessing in disguise, even though it was a difficult one. There are conversations I have heard in the past of people assuming and concluding somehow I was not just making money from cars. Without something like this happening, it would have been hard to clear those kinds of rumors. But now they have all seen it. Some were waiting for a totally different outcome. I am not really sure we have seen a situation resolved with 100% clarity like this before. After how many steps they had already taken, I just give God the glory.
5. What was going through your mind when you were released on bond and placed on home detention?
Answer: During that period, since I had never had such issues in my life, I really did not know what was next. I thought everything was over and was about to be resolved, not knowing we would have to wait another almost three years. It was definitely a painful and traumatic experience.
6. How did you feel when the charges were finally dismissed, and your name was cleared?
Answer: I first had to give glory to God when we heard the case was dismissed, knowing full well there are a lot of innocent people in jail today, locked up for things they had nothing to do with. Some just could not endure and fight for their innocence. It was a day I will never forget. I still do not know what to say yet or how to express myself, but I am grateful God saw me through, and the truth is out now. I still have sad days, difficult days, due to how traumatized I have been. I will be going for counseling shortly. I have moody days now that I cannot even explain. I get super emotional easily now. It’s going to be a journey to fixing my mind and healing. It was a sad experience, but I thank God it’s all over now.
7. Can you walk us through the process of how the actual culprit was apprehended and your name cleared?
Answer: For three years straight, we heard that the FBI was doing the needful in getting everyone involved in the situation to book. So we actually kept still waiting, knowing that once they got everyone involved, the truth would be out. Only to our surprise, three years later, we had seen nothing about the actual culprit. At that point, I asked my lawyers and partner what I could do. Understand, we did not even know who this customer was—they gave us no picture, just a name. We tried a Google search, but nothing meaningful came up. So I playfully posted the court document on our Adesuwa Motors chat, where we have all employees. To my greatest shock, one of our very smart staff traced the customer within 20 minutes and sent us everything about the customer, including his office, his fiancée, everything we needed. The conversations between us from eight years ago—I was shaking and excited at the same time. We had him make an appointment with the customer to come install a solar unit in our hotel in Lagos. The rest is history. We involved the police at that point and waited for the customer to show up. He did, and at that point, he was arrested. Well, he almost left, so we asked him to order Chinese rice on us to keep him there a bit, without him understanding what we were about to do. He did, and our team finally got there. We had to allow him to finish eating before arresting him. Only to find out he had even given his life to Christ years ago, so we did not have to apply any pressure to get the whole story clearly out of him. We also found out that the feds never went after him, as he said he never knew there was any issue going on. And he was still following us on social media, imagine.
8. What was the most challenging part of this experience for you, and how did you overcome it?
Answer: The most challenging part was not even the case itself—it was what most Nigerians, including our bloggers, were doing! Imagine an ongoing investigation. Do you know what our media teams were posting online at that point? They were ruthless. At a point, I even believed they were being paid. There were some certain females that I had to save their write-ups and images because I will definitely need them to take a mic and explain what they were saying about me without ever knowing me. They cooked up every kind of lie and were spewing it in the midst of this storm. You would believe them, trust me, because there were things I read that I don’t even know where such came from. They were actually influencing an FBI investigation negatively because everyone could see what they were posting as it’s a news blog. Then you just needed to go to the comment section—you would be shocked how we Nigerians could be really evil to ourselves. I ended up in the ICU several times after reading the deformity and lies they were putting on me. But God has finally shut all of them up. If you are one of those people wishing others to fail, I do not see how you will win, mostly when you are telling lies on others. My crime was simple—I sell cars to Nigerians. I have never done anything else. And I am not the only one selling products to Nigerians. But I give God the glory; the truth is finally out.
9. How has this experience affected your business, Renee Motors and Logistics LLC?
Answer: It was terrible, I won’t lie. But even inside the storm, a lot of Nigerians still stood by me. I am talking reputable individuals, one of which is Daddy Freeze. Words are not going to be enough to express how grateful I am to him. Even inside the storm, he still went ahead to order two expensive cars! He did not stop there. He also stood for me in the toughest of situations that had to do with our customers. Understand, I have not been to Nigeria in almost eight years now and have not met this family ever. Yet he trusted me effortlessly. He willfully gives me shout-outs. I really think this family was an angel sent by God to me. This made me see things differently. You might disagree with certain people in different ways, but those same people might be the most amazing folks ever. I really got to see things differently inside this situation. There were people that I thought were there for me, and once there was a storm, they disappeared. Some were even opening fake pages to attack me. I am talking about very popular people.
10. How do you plan to rebuild and restore your reputation in the industry?
I think the most have been done already by God. I do not think there have been any situation like mine in the past involving a Nigerian, and they come out clean. That alone, with a total dismissal, is the biggest restoration ever. Like it’s normally said, a good name is better than wealth. I still stand by that principle. Now I have been verified by God and the FBI, who run the greatest law enforcement team in the world. What more do I want? If it is easy to pull off, I think everyone should try it and see if they can also come out clean. The percentage of having a total dismissal from the feds is so small, and then amongst our fellow Nigerians, it’s almost impossible. Hence, there was so much weight to this case. Thank God it’s all over now. I will use this opportunity to start speaking up for other small business owners and entrepreneurs, creating awareness for business owners to understand most risk factors they face without even knowing—just selling their products—and how we can better protect ourselves from ever being victims in situations that have to do with poor choices some of our customers could make.
11. What message do you want to convey to your clients and customers who stood by you during this time?
To everyone who stood by me during the difficult times, I say a big thank you! To every customer that was also understanding towards me during those times, I also say a big thanks. To those who lacked every sort of empathy, I say thanks and sorry from the depth of my heart. Nobody prays for a temptation. This was beyond. I made an effort to stay all through. It would have been easier to take a break. So sincerely, this was a situation beyond control. But we thank God it is finally over. To those who were mocking during the times of need, there was no need for such. Nobody knows tomorrow. We will all face challenges at some point in life. Yours might not be FBI challenges; it could be worse. But again, this was beyond and we never expected such because we never had any interest in anything of such. So I normally thought such could never happen to me. But unfortunately, it happened. But God has given us victory. Again, to all our customers! Both the nice or mean ones! We still love you and are sorry about any inconveniences this situation caused. We will do everything possible to make sure satisfaction is guaranteed going forward. God has vindicated me, but I am mostly grateful to those who were understanding and patient. God will also come through for you whenever you need him. Thank you.
12. What did you learn about yourself and your resilience during this experience?
Well, difficult times define you as a person. I realized I was much tougher than I would have ever thought. I also realized I could go through any sort of heat and make it out. I drew closer to God, prayed more, and trusted God more. I also realize freedom and peace are priceless. No matter how bad you want success, do everything possible to get it legit. Peace is the ultimate success, trust me.
13. How has this experience changed your perspective on life and business?
I used to be a big critic of myself. I set too many goals and put in so much effort into these goals. But after my experience, I think it is best to take a step at a time. Take breaks when needed, go on vacations, do things that bring you joy more. Do your best and leave the rest. Money is great, but freedom is priceless.
14. What advice would you give to others who may be facing similar challenges?
Make sure your hands are clean. Get your story out; you never know who is watching. Get a good support system around you. Get good attorneys that are willing to fight for you. Trust the process! Stay strong. And for business, never trust anyone. Always be ahead of yourself. Realize nothing is promised. Give yourself accolades whenever needed. Appreciate what you have and strive for better but do not pressure yourself.
15. Is there anything else you’d like to share about your experience, or any final thoughts you’d like to leave our audience with?
I think we as Nigerians and humans need to stop wishing evil on ourselves. When this news was out about the FBI coming after me, you should see the celebration amongst a lot of Nigerians online. The comment sections were on fire. Even some ladies I normally respected online were busy writing all sorts of insults on these posts. Then, fast forward to when the truth came out and it was not what they wanted, they all went mute! Why are we like this? When did we as a country get to such points? So are we now supposed to also celebrate when something terrible happens to one of these people tomorrow? I could never understand this. As a people, I think we need to do better. Everything is not cruise. Wait till a situation is concluded before you celebrate anyone’s pain. You might just be attacking the wrong person. Then again, nothing good in life will come easy. Hence, everyone cannot be successful. If you are not willing to go through heat, stay away from becoming an entrepreneur. It is not for the weak. Trust me! Just do your 9 to 5 peacefully.
