The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, (EFCC), Ibadan Zonal office has convicted 40 suspected internet fraudsters including an undergraduate student from one of the public universities in the South Western region of the country.
The suspected undergraduate was convicted and sentenced to one-year imprisonment for internet fraud amounting to N195m.
The convicts were arraigned at four different High Courts in Ibadan on a one-count charge.
Their offences bordered on impersonation, obtaining money under false pretence, obtaining property by false pretence and forgery contrary to Sections 419, 467, 484, 516 and 508 of the Criminal Code Law Cap 38, Laws of Oyo State, 2000.
The Prosecution counsel, Modupe Akinkoye, Oyelakin Oyediran, Oluwatoyin Owodunni, Chidi Okoli, Abdulrasheed Suleiman, Mabas Mabur and Samsuddeen Bashir alleged that the suspects conspired to forge various the United States of America Banks Cheques and purport same to be genuine and thereby committed the offence of conspiracy to commit forgery contrary to Section 516 and 467 of the Criminal Code Law, Cap 38, Laws of Oyo State, 2000.”
The suspects pleaded guilty to the charges filed against them by the EFCC.
In view of their guilty pleas, the prosecution counsel has reviewed the facts of the cases tendered confessional statements and documents recovered from the convicts as exhibits and urged the courts to convict and sentence the defendants as charged.
Two of the convicted suspects were convicted and sentenced to one-year imprisonment each without the “option of fine”, while another one bagged three months jailed terms and six months of community service.
Other defendants were convicted and sentenced to six months of community service each.
Furthermore, the court ordered one of the suspects to pay the sum of $1,000USD (One Thousand United States Dollars) in restitution and forfeit a white Mercedes Benz CLA-250 with a customized NANS plate number worth N16 million, a gold neck chain and one ice neck chain worth N3.6million, bitcoin worth $58, 854.88USD, one Apple MacBook Pro 2020 Model and an iPhone 12 Pro Max to the Federal Government of Nigeria.
Other convicts were ordered to restitute their victims and forfeit all items recovered from them.
ALSO READ FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE
EFCC convict 40 suspected internet fraudsters in Ibadan
and then