Man In EFCC Net For Allegedly Defraud BDC Operator Of $10,000 Fraud

A Fraud Suspect, Adeshina Lukman

Man In EFCC Net For Allegedly Defraud BDC Operator Of $10,000 Fraud •Also 18 Suspected Internet Fraudusters Nabbed

A man, Adeshina Lukman, is currently cooling his feet in the custody of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Lagos, for allegedly defraud a Bureau De Change (BDC) Operator, Isa Abdulhamid Mohammed, of the sum of $10, 000 USD.

The fraud Suspect according to the report from the antigraft agency, was arrested April 14, 2021 in the Ipaja/Ayobo area of Lagos, following a complaint received from BDC Operator.

The Lagos Zonal Office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has arrested one for an alleged case of obtaining money by false pretence and stealing to the tune of $10,000.

The BDC Operator, Mohammed, in his petition to the agency, had alleged that one Bashir Haruna Isa, a Bureau De Change operator, sometime in March 2020, approached him with an offer to sell $10,000, while he (Mohammed) would pay the Naira equivalent of the Dollars to him.

He further alleged that when Isa requested a Dollar account where the money would be paid into, he was provided with a Wells Fargo Bank account number 4861511475.

According to him; “upon receipt of the money paid by one Thomas Joyner in the United States of America into the Dollar account, he made a transfer of N3.5 million, being the Naira equivalent of the Dollars into Isa’s account in a new generation bank.

The Complianant, however, stated that: the said sum of $10,000 was reversed from the Wells Fargo’s account by the bank, on the grounds that the transaction was unauthorised and fraudulent.

The EFCC stated that investigations revealed that “Isa allegedly made those transactions on behalf of the suspect, who confessed to being involved in scamming unsuspecting victims and defrauding them of huge sums of money.

“Isa further claimed that he had approached the complainant based on a call he received from one Muttaka Idris to help him provide an account details in the USA, where Dollars could be paid into.

“Idris, when apprehended by the EFCC, also claimed that when he received the Wells Fargo’s account details, he gave it to one Jamil Na-Allah, who had called to also ask him for it.

“In his statement, Na-Allah, also a BDC operator, revealed that he got a call from the suspect, who informed him that he wanted to sell $10,000 and asked for a US account, where the money would be paid into.

“Na-Allah further claimed that, upon the payment of the money into the account, the sum of N3, 000,000.00 (Three Million Naira) was paid into his (Na-Allah) account, out of which he transferred the sum of N2, 730,000.00 (Two Million, Seven Hundred and Thirty Thousand Naira) into the suspect’s account after he had taken his share and that of Idris from it.

“He also claimed that all efforts to retrieve the money from the suspect, after he had been informed that the money was reversed from the bank, proved abortive”.

The EFCC said the suspects will soon be charged to court.

In a related development, the Lagos Zone of the EFCC said it operatives have arrested 18 suspected internet fraudsters.

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The suspects according to the agency are: Ayomide Christian Balogun, Harrison Etshede, Rahim Ibrahim Ajiboye, Nwafor Ebuka, Christian Onyenachi, Egbe Emmanuel Olemuno, Okoye Charles, Moses Isaac Benjamin and Abubakar Mukthar.

Others are: Ayodele Adewusi Khalid, John Folarin Oyindamola, Oshilaja Ayomide Samson, Olayinka Samuel Juwon, Keshinro Ridwan Oluwafemi, Sulaimon Waris Titilope, Samuel Odei Olamilekan, Shen Banjo Olusayo and Michael Olayinka Ike.

The suspected internet fraudusters, according to the agency were arrested during ‘sting operations’ on both Second Gate Estate, Oke-Iranla, Ajah, Lekki, and Victoria Garden City (VGC) Lagos, on April 19 and 20, 2021, following verified intelligence on their alleged involvement in computer-related fraud.

Items recovered from the suspects include cars, mobile phones and laptop computers.

All the suspects the antigraft agency said will soon be charged to court.