Fraudster loses N24.3m cash, 3 cars, gets jail sentence

The Ilorin Zonal Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on November 28, 2022 secured the conviction of a 30-year-old man, Yusuf Yusuf Olarewaju, a native of Erin-Ile in Oyun Local Government Area of Kwara State for offences bordering on internet fraud.

Justice Adebayo Yusuf of the Kwara State High Court sitting in Ilorin found Olarewaju guilty of the one count charge brought against him by the anti-graft agency.

Consequently, the judge sentenced him to 6 months imprisonment with option of fine of N200,000. The court also forfeited all the instruments used by the convict to perpetrate the crime, including the proceeds of crime, a Mercedes Benz GLK 2010 model; a Toyota Camry 2013 model; a Toyota Corolla 2005 model, iphone 14 pro-max and the sum of N24,364,860 (Twenty Four Million, Three Hundred and Sixty Four Thousand, Eight Hundred and Sixty Naira).

Olarewaju’s journey to jail started on October 23, 2022 when he was arrested following actionable intelligence about the activities of syndicates of fraudsters operating in Erin-Ile and environs.

Investigation revealed that Olarewaju, while using a fraudulent email, ksmithkatie27@gmail.com, posed as one Smith Katie, a white female from Missouri, USA, to strike relationships with one James Gibson (Jimmy) and Stephen Speer, both of whom he swindled to the tune of $30,000 USD between 2021 and 2022.

The defendant did not only confessed to the crime, but also pleaded guilty when he was arraigned in court on November 11, 2022.

At the resumed sitting of the case on Monday, Justice Yusuf said he had carefully evaluated the facts of the case; the guilty plea entered by the defendant; the extra-judicial statements of the defendant as well as the exhibits tendered in evidence and was convinced that there were justifiable reasons to convict the defendant. Consequently, the judge pronounced him guilty.