A "Nigerian prince" who allegedly tricked people out of thousands of dollars was in reality a 67-year-old man living in Louisiana, police there have said. 

Michael Neu faces more than 250 charges of wire fraud and money laundering after police in Slidell swooped down and arrested him following an 18-month investigation. 

Police believe Mr Neu was the middle man in a scam intended to trick inexperienced internet users out of their savings, and worked with co-conspirators actually based in Nigeria. 

The scam is immediately recognisable to anyone who has had an email address for any significant period of time: users receive an email claiming to be from a "Nigerian prince", who says he is willing to pay handsomely for the user's help to unlock millions in funds. 

The rub? Users must first send the con-artists their personal information, including bank account number, supposedly to facilitate the transfer of money. 

 

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