Court Convicts Man For One Year Over $475,000 Internet Scam

Justice Oluwatoyin Taiwo of the Lagos State Special Offences Court in Ikeja has convicted and sentenced one Chinedu Omesu, to one-year imprisonment, without an option of fine, for his involvement in a $475,000 internet scam, otherwise known as “Yahoo Yahoo”. Justice Taiwo found Omesu guilty of defrauding an Asian-American woman, Soon Kim, of the sum of $475,000 after he changed his earlier plea following a plea bargain agreement he entered into with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). The 23-year-old convict was first arraigned before the court by the EFCC on August 6, 2021, on an 11-count charge. At the resumed hearing of the matter on Tuesday, the EFCC counsel, Rotimi Oyedepo, informed the judge that a plea bargain agreement had been reached with the convict. Oyedepo also told the court that based on the plea bargain, a fresh three-count amended charge dated February 14, 2022, was filed against the convict, urging the court to take his plea. Following his guilty plea, the anti-graft agency’s prosecutor tendered in evidence the bank account statement through the first prosecution witness, Saidu Abubakar. There was no objection from the defence and it was admitted in evidence. Thereafter, Justice Taiwo convicted him as charged and ordered him to make restitution to the victim. She sentenced him to one-year imprisonment beginning from January 1, 2022, when he was arrested.