Wale Kehinde, a 27-year-old barber, was on Thursday, August 23, 2018, arraigned at an Ikeja High Court by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, for allegedly defrauding two Americans of $23,000 through romance and lottery scams.
The News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, reports that Kehinde, a resident of No. 8, Ogundare Awise Lane, Gbagada, Lagos, however, pleaded not guilty to the four counts of obtaining money by false pretenses and possession of fraudulent documents.
According to the prosecuting counsel for the EFCC, Mrs. Zainab Ettu, the barber allegedly committed the offences sometime in 2017 in Lagos.
“The defendant goes by three aliases which are: Charles Coleman, Benson Coleman and Carolina Brewer.
“While posing as Charles Coleman, the defendant fraudulently obtained $15,000 from Janice Steen, an American, by falsely representing to her that he is an American building contractor who was in love with her.
“He illegally obtained $8,000 from another American, a lady named Jan Rowland, by falsely informing her that she had won a lottery and that he was Carolina Brewer, a lawyer, working on her winnings.
“While posing as Carolina Brewer, Kehinde informed Rowland that the $8,000 she was to pay represented clearance fees for the lottery winnings,” Ettu said.
The EFCC counsel alleged that the defendant was also nabbed by the anti-graft agency with fraudulent copies of e-mail sent to foreigners.
“On June 21, 2018, he had in his possession a G-mail document entitled “About Me,” which he had sent to Kasie Butler via her e-mail address. The document he sent contained false pretence.
“He also sent a document containing false pretence which was entitled “About Me” to one Mike W’s e-mail address,” she said.
NAN reports that the offences contravened sections 1(3) and 6 of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Related Offences Act 2006.
Following Kehinde’s plea, Ettu urged the court to remand the defendant in prison custody because the anti-graft commission’s detention facility was currently overcrowded.
Frank Eke, The defendant’s counsel, via a summons for bail dated August 20, urged the court to order that Kehinde be remanded at the EFCC pending his client’s bail hearing.
Acceding to the EFCC’s request, the vacation judge, Justice Obafemi Adamson, ordered that the defendant be remanded at the Ikoyi Prisons.
He adjourned the case until September 6, 2018, for hearing.
