... As Banker, One Other Bag Jail Terms For N116m Fraud
-The Daily Crucible
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Makurdi Zonal Office on Tuesday secured the conviction of one, Victor Chinemerem Ogaraku, for cryptocurrency fraud.
The 20-year-old was prosecuted by the Makurdi Zonal Office before Justice Mobolaji Olajuwon of the Federal High Court sitting in Makurdi, Benue State on one-count charge that borders on obtaining by false pretence.
The charge reads: “That you, Victor Chinemerem Ogaraku, sometime in November 2020, in Makurdi, within the jurisdiction of the Honourable Court, with intent to defraud, did obtain the aggregate sum of N257,500 from one Otokpa Joseph Orinya as payment for cryptocurrency, under the pretence that you have same for sale, which you knew was false and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 1 (1)(a) and punishable under Section 1 (3) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006".
When the charge was read to him, the defendant pleaded ‘guilty’, prompting the prosecuting counsel, George Chia-Yakua, to ask the Court to convict him accordingly.
Justice Olajuwon pronounced him guilty and subsequently convicted and sentenced him to a fine of N50, 000.00 (Fifty Thousand Naira) or six (6) months imprisonment.
He also ordered that the convict pay the sum of Two hundred and Fifty-seven Thousand Five Hundred Naira (N257, 500.00) to his victim as restitution.
Similarly, a banker, one other bag jail terms for N116m fraud
Earlier, the Lagos Zonal Office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC has secured the conviction of Temitope Oluwasanmi and Augustine Olayinka before Justice Mojisola Dada of a Special Offences Court, Lagos State High Court, Ikeja.
The convicts were arraigned in December 2017 on a six-count charge bordering on conspiracy, stealing and fraudulent diversion of funds to the tune of N116million (One Hundred and Sixteen Million Naira) to which they pleaded "not guilty" prompting commencement of trial.
Oluwasanmi, an employee of Union Bank of Nigeria (UBN) Plc, who was arrested by operatives of the EFCC in October 2017, following a petition from the bank was alleged to have diverted the N116million to the accounts of three friends: Augustine Olayinka, Oginni Opeyemi and Ogbaro Oluwaseyi. Opeyemi and Oluwaseyi remained at large.
In the course of the trial, prosecuting counsel, Bilikisu Bala Buhari, called three witnesses and tendered several documents to prove the case against them.
Delivering judgement on Friday, Justice Dada found the first and second defendants guilty of count one bordering on conspiracy, and sentenced them to three years imprisonment.
The first defendant was further convicted of counts two, three and four and sentenced to 10 years imprisonment.
He was also found guilty of count six bordering on retention of criminal proceeds and sentenced to three years imprisonment, while the second defendant was found guilty of count five bordering on fraudulent false accounting and sentenced to seven years imprisonment.
The sentences are to run concurrently.
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