Adebowale Taiwo Abiola, a final year student of LAUTECH has been sentenced to one year imprisonment for romance scam.
Abiola is a 500-level student of Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso, Oyo State.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) arrested him after intelligence about the criminal activities of a fraud syndicate in Lekki.
The convict, who resides at Brownstone Estate, Ikate, Elegushi, presented himself as Burton J. Smith, an American, to defraud his victims.
While using the identity of Smith, an ex-military personnel, Abiola scammed Courtney Selina Kaye, who sent money to him by selling $104,500 bitcoin from her wallet on localbitcoin website in 2019.
The EFCC arraigned him on a one-count amended charge bordering on possession of fraudulent documents containing false pretence.
After Abiola pleaded ‘guilty’ to the charge, prosecution counsel, I. A. Mohammed, told the court about his plea bargain.
Justice O. A. Taiwo sentenced him to one year imprisonment, with an option of N300,000 fine.
She held that N5million recovered from Abiola be forfeited to the Kaye, through the Federal Government
Justice Taiwo also ordered that his black Mercedes Benz GLK (AKD 573 GK) be forfeited to Kaye through the Federal Government.
Furthermore, N26.6million, being the remaining part of $104,500 obtained from Kaye, will be restituted to her from the convicts’ assets.
The convict must enter into a bond with the EFCC to be of good behaviour and never engage in financial crimes within and outside Nigeria after his release from prison.
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