Man implicated in advanced fee fraud knowingly received $60,000 from fraudulent relative

 

ARINZE NWAFOR, Lagos

 

An Ikeja Special Offences Court has found that a man received up to $60,000 from his relative whom he knew was involved in fraudulent activities.

 

Omobolaji Omoigbe, on Monday, pled guilty to a one-count charge of advanced fee fraud brought against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

 

The prosecution counsel, C. C. Okezie, asked the court to review the facts of the case and called on the prosecution witness, John Daniel, an operative of the EFCC whose team investigated the case.

 

Daniel told the court that his team began investigating the defendant, Omoigbe, after the USA’s Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) sent a petition to the EFCC on April 28, 2023, alerting the commission of a case of computer intrusion and business email compromise against the defendant.

 

Daniel told the court that his team ran a profile search on the defendant and got his contact details through which the commission contacted him and invited him for questioning.

 

He said, “The defendant answered and accepted the invitation to come down for interrogation. But, he denied the FBI petition against him.”

 

The witness said the FBI noted in their report that the sum of $1.9 million was stolen from an American company and its parent company, and it was conducted through an email address which belongs to the defendant.

 

According to the witness, the defendant surrendered an extrajudicial statement to the EFCC wherein he claimed to have two relatives, one of whom he referred to as ‘Uncle’ Bartholomew who were involved in fraudulent practices.

 

Daniel also told the court that the defendant admitted to receiving some money in bits from his uncle Bartholomew over a period totalling $60,000 as gifts into his Access bank account.

 

“The defendant restituted $40,000 to the EFCC, but claimed to have spent the rest of the money,” the witness said.

 

“The commission recovered the defendant’s phone, an iPhone SS Max, and after it carried out a forensic search on it, found no incriminating evidence,” he added.

 

Okezie tendered the defendant’s extrajudicial statement, smartphone, statement of account, Access bank letter notifying him of the EFCC inquiry into his account and the restituted $40,000 notes to the court and asked that they be admitted into evidence.

 

Justice Rahman Oshodi admitted the materials into evidence after the defence counsel, Genesis Bandodo, did not object.

 

“In light of the guilty plea, we do not object,” Bandodo said.

 

Bandodo also told the court that his client entered a plea bargain with the Prosecution and requested that the Prosecution Counsel include it in her review of facts.

 

However, Okezie told the court that she was not the substantive counsel on the matter and was not with the particulars of any plea bargain deal with the defendant.

 

The prosecution urged the court to adjourn to a later date to allow her to provide the particulars of the plea bargain, while the defence counsel requested that the defendant be remanded in EFCC custody until the next court date.

 

Oshodi adjourned the matter to November 30 for the continuation of the review of facts and to allow him to ask the defendant some questions.