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In Saeku's neighborhood, it was his eccentric landscaping. He planted dozens of bushes, trees and other plants on his half-acre lot at the corner of Quail Hollow Drive and Hardimont Road.
But Saeku's face also was familiar to local retailers who suspected him of shoplifting.
In a recent federal jury trial, Saeku, 46, was convicted of selling stolen goods through Internet sites such as eBay and Half.com. Saeku made money off more than 9,000 online sales from 2005 to 2007, according to his federal indictment.
Saeku, who served as his own attorney, also was found guilty of attempting an insurance scam in which he falsely claimed to have been the victim of a home invasion in July 2005 and filed for $156,912 in insured losses.
Saeku, who was in jail last week, likely will be sentenced in November. He could face up to 20 years in federal prison.
But Saeku's run-in with federal authorities came after years of battles with local law enforcement. He had been charged more than two dozen times in state court with theft-related charges. He also had been imprisoned.
A Wake County sheriff's deputy who went to Saeku's house in 2006 to set up an electronic house-arrest unit noticed more than 10,000 DVDs and CDs in boxes in his house.
That year, police also seized a computer from the North Regional Library after they saw him using the machine to access Half.com and eBay. Police said he was using the sites to sell stolen DVDs, CDs and other merchandise.
As part of his conviction in federal court, the federal government seized Saeku's house. He was also ordered to forfeit his cars and bank accounts.
The forfeiture awaits a judge's signature. The government could take as little as 60 days from that point to take over the house if no one else files any claims, said Robin Zier, a spokeswoman at the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina.
The U.S. Attorney's Office said Saeku had amassed $500,000 in assets in addition to his home, valued at $214,000. He was ordered to forfeit all but one investment account to the government.
As Saeku's house sits empty, the absence of care he once offered his yard is obvious. Weeds tower over bushes, and grass in the yard is knee-high in places. A car bumper and broken fence pickets are strewn in the driveway.
Dozens of yard ornaments adorn his lot, which is populated by a menagerie of cement duck, geese, frogs and pigs. More than 30 birdhouses hang from various trees.
City workers also came out in July and took out a row of crape myrtles that were planted in the street's right-of-way and had branches hanging over the street, blocking the visibility of a stop sign.
"There was indeed an obstruction of visibility and the trees were illegally planted," said Sally Thigpen, the city's urban forester.
But there is a slight upside to the disarray, said Chris Owens, a neighbor who lives across Hardimont Street from Saeku's home.
"With the lawn the way it is, it doesn't encourage me to mow my own lawn," he said.
sarah.ovaska@newsobserver.com or 829-4622
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