A fugitive from the United States has been caught with the help of Facebook, according to The Next Web. Maxi Sopo, a 26 year old from Cameroon, moved to the United States in 2003 and began to sell roses in Seattle nightclubs. Later, he moved on the bank fraud, falsely obtaining more than $200,000. After learning that he was being investigated, Sopo crossed the border to Mexico in February.

While living in the popular tourist destination of Cancún, Mexico, Sopo continued to post status updates to his Facebook account about his great experiences in Mexico. Sopo’s mistake came when he befriended a person on Facebook whom he had met in some of the city’s nightclubs. Presumably unbeknownst to Sopo, the person was formerly a United States Department of Justice official, a fact which he mentioned on his Facebook account. While Sopo’s Facebook account was private, his friends list was not and Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Scoville looked through it. Upon finding the former DOJ official amongst Sopo’s friends, Scoville arranged to talk to the person.

The collaboration led to the apprehension of Maxi Sopo, who is currently in a Mexico City jail awaiting extradition to the United States. According to the Guardian, Sopo faces charges of bank fraud along with another man, Edward Asatoorians, who has already plead guilty. The two are charged with asking others to falsify their income and take out loans for cars. This money was then instead used to fund Asatoorians’s business and a trip to Las Vegas. Asatoorians is likely to face at least five years in jail, while Sopo may face up to 30 years.

[Image from facebook.com/profile.php?id=1113979438]