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The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission,
EFCC, has secured the conviction of one Chima Hyginus Nkwocha, a.k.a
"Young Billionaire," for cheating by impersonation and money
laundering.
He was jailed on Tuesday, December 31,
2024.
Nkwocha was arraigned before Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court,
Maitama, Abuja, on a two-count charge bordering on cheating by impersonation
and money laundering.
One of the counts read: "That you, Chima Hyginus Nkwocha (AKA Frank
Nils, Frank Cobert, Frank Brown & Chettot), sometime in 2022 in Abuja
within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, did fraudulently impersonate
Frank Nils, Frank Cobert, Frank Brown, and Chiress Riffatt on Gmail and Google
Voice using the Gmail addresses frankcorbett272@gmail.com and chriressrifatt@gmail.com with
intent to defraud, fraudulently obtaining a cumulative sum of Three Hundred and
Forty-Five Thousand Dollars ($345,000) from Linda Wheeler, an American, and
receiving the naira equivalent through Ginux Global Nigeria Limited with
account No. 1228782493 domiciled in Zenith Bank, thereby committing an offence
contrary to Section 22(2) of the Cyber Crimes (Prohibition, Prevention, Etc.)
Act, 2015 and punishable under Section 22(4) of the Act."
The defendant pleaded guilty to the charges when they were read to him.
Following his guilty plea, prosecution counsel, Lanre Adeola Olariwaju,
reviewed the case against Nkwocha and prayed the court to convict him
accordingly.
According to Olariwaju, the convict was arrested in August 2024 at the Lugbe
area of Abuja following an intelligence received by the EFCC's Advanced Fee
Fraud Section. Items recovered during his arrest included: A black Mercedes
Benz ML 350 with registration no. B-2 and Chassis no. 4JGDA5HB9DA105827, two
gold necklaces with pendants, one gold bracelet, $2,200 cash, N90,280,934.00 in
the Ginux Global Nigeria Ltd Zenith Bank (account no. 1228782493), for which
Nkwocha was the sole signatory.
A three-bedroom terrace duplex at Cookies Court 2, 2nd Avenue, Ocean Palm
Estate, Ogombo, Sangotedo, Ajah, Lagos, a three-bedroom bungalow and two
self-contained apartments situated on Plot B023, Standard Estate, Galadima,
Abuja, and a plot of land measuring about 300 square meters at Eko Beach City,
Lekki Phase 1, Lagos, two Zenith Bank drafts worth N5,000,000 and N3,000,000,
dated September 12, 2024, and October 17, 2024, respectively. An iPhone 13
Pro Max, a Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra, and a Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra.
Nkwocha also confessed to impersonating Frank Nils, Frank Cobert, Frank Brown,
and Chiress Riffatt using gmail and google voice to defraud Linda Wheeler, an
American, of $345,000. He received the naira equivalent through Ginux Global
Nigeria Ltd's Zenith Bank account.
Olariwaju tendered several pieces of evidence, including the defendant's extrajudicial
statements, electronic devices, forensic investigation reports, among others .
The defence raised no objections and the court admitted all evidence as
exhibits.
Justice Nwite, satisfied with the EFCC’s submissions, found Nkwocha
guilty. The court sentenced him to two years' imprisonment with an option of a
fine of N2,000,000.
Additionally, the court ordered the forfeiture of the following items, being
proceeds of crime, to the Federal Government of Nigeria: a black Mercedes Benz
ML 350, gold jewelry and $2,200 cash, N90,280,934.00 in the Ginux Global
Nigeria Ltd Zenith Bank account, properties in Lagos, Abuja, and Lekki,
the Zenith Bank drafts and the electronic devices recovered from the convict.
Nkwocha's journey to the Correctional Centre began when he was arrested for internet fraud. He was charged to court and pleaded guilty to two-count charges raised against him. The court thereafter found him guilty and sentenced him to two years imprisonment. The court ordered the forfeiture of all he fraudulently amassed to the government
