Crime

Court Jails UK Ex-convict One Year For Defrauding Hotel

Published

2 years ago

July 1, 2022

Justice Mojisola Dada of the Ikeja Special Offences Court, Lagos, on Friday sentenced a United Kingdom ex-convict, Ahmed Adebola, to one year imprisonment for defrauding Radisson Blu Hotel of N4.4 million.

Justice Dada sentenced the defendant after he pleaded guilty to an amended one count of obtaining by false pretence, offence which contravenes Section 312 of the Criminal Laws of Lagos State, 2011.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission had, on May 30, charged the convict on an amended one count of obtaining by false pretence.

The EFCC counsel, Ahmed Yerima, said that the Radisson Blu Hotel Management wrote a petition against the defendant to the commission, after he defrauded the hotel of the sum of N4.4million.

The prosecution submitted that the EFCC received a report from the hotel sometime in December 2020 and alleged that the defendant, who had lodged in their facility, off and on, made payments through credit cards and American Express in favour of the hotel and the payments were recalled by the unified payment system.

Yerima said, “Based on the information gotten between December 15 and 16, 2020, the defendant checked into the hotel again and was arrested based on the earlier allegations against him.

“A search was conducted on him and nine different credit cards, bearing different names, were recovered from him in which six out of the nine were American Express.

“Two United Kingdom driver licences were recovered from him at the point of arrest, all of which contained the same information, including the picture of the defendant and the only difference was the name.

“The defendant said that the cards were given to him by one Jim Collins, whom he met in the UK and he was aware that the credit cards were not legally issued and that he did not know the owners of the card.”

The prosecution further said that an investigation was extended to the National Crimes Agency in the United Kingdom to confirm the authenticity of the cards, the driver licences and the criminal record of the defendant, if any existed.

“The team received a response from the NCA stating that the driver licences were forged documents, including the credit card.

“The NCA also said that the defendant was sentenced to 15 months imprisonment in the UK for offences bordering on fraudulent bank card, motoring offences and others which later resulted in his deportation,” the prosecution said.

Delivering judgement, Justice Dada sentenced the defendant to one year imprisonment.

Dada said, “The defendant is hereby sentenced to one year jail term, having been on bail till now or pay an option of fine of N2 million.

“All the items recovered from him is hereby forfeited to the Federal Government and must write an understatement never to go back to the same crime again.”

PUNCH

Crime

Police Declare Man Wanted Over Homos*xual Act

Published

10 months ago

June 22, 2023

Editor

A 50-years old man, Edo Omusi, has been declared wanted by the police in Benin City, the capital of Edo State, for disappearing after being ‘caught’ in a same s*x act in Ogiso community.

A source close to the police in the state, told our correspondent that the suspect, and one of his male friends, whose name was not given, were sighted at an undisclosed location by some youths as they were comitting the act.

Under Nigerian Laws, any person caught in the gay act is liable to 14 years in prison and if found by the community could be killed.

The duo were said to have been deeply engrossed in the act when they were found but before the person who saw them in the , “sinful and abominable act”, went for back up, they had escaped the location.

The incident which occurred on 25/4/23 at Ogiso area of the town almost threw the community into a turmoil as irate youths welding sticks and cudgels rampaged the community in search of the duo to lynch them.

It was also learnt that worried by the trend the youths in the community had to set up a surveillance team to monitor his movements. It was on one of the surveillance trips that he was reportedly caught on the fateful day, with the unidentified male partner.

It was gathered since the community reported the incident to the police, the whereabouts of the suspect, Edo Omusi has since remained unknown by all and sundry.

Speaking on the development, a top Police official confirmed the matter and explained that the Crime Investigation Department of the command is working round the clock to arrest the suspect, having declared him a wanted person.

Crime

Man, 41, Sent To Prison For Groping Woman’s Breast

Published

1 year ago

April 14, 2023

Editor

A Badagry Magistrates’ Court, Lagos, on Friday, ordered the remand of a 41-year-old man, Ibrahim Lemo, for groping the breast of a woman.

The court heard that Lemo beat up his victim, Zainab Babalola, when she demanded he stopped the unlawful act

Chief Magistrate Fadahunsi Adefioye remanded Lemo after he pleaded guilty to a two count bordering on assault.

Adefioye ordered that the defendant should be remanded in Awhajigoh Correctional Centre, Badagry.

He adjourned the case until April 14 for facts and sentencing.

Earlier, the prosecutor, ASP. Clément Okuoimose, told the court that the defendant committed the offences on April 6 at 2.30 p.m. at Badagry Roundabout shopping complex, Badagry, Lagos.

Okuoimose said Lemo without lawful excuse pressed the breast of the complainant, Zainab Babalola.

He said the defendant also hit the complainant on her left eye and caused her harm after she asked him not to touch her again.

The prosecutor said the offences contravened Sections 134 and 170 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.

(NAN)

Crime

Hushpuppi’s Associate, Woodberry, Pleads Guilty, Forfeits $8m, Assets

Published

1 year ago

April 13, 2023

Editor

Olalekan Jacob Ponle, known as Mr Woodberry, has pleaded guilty to wire fraud.

He also agreed to forfeit $8 million in proceeds of wire fraud as well as luxury cars and watches to the foreign government.

Woodberry, a known associate of the now-imprisoned internet fraudster, Ramon Abbas, better known as Hushpuppi, recently in a plea declaration submitted at the United States District Court of the Northern District of Illinois Eastern Division on April 6, pleaded guilty to count one of the indictments, the Peoples Gazette reports.

According to his plea agreement, he is required to pay back the sum of $8 million he fraudulently received from the seven companies that he scammed.

“Defendant understands that by pleading guilty, he will subject to forfeiture to the United States all right, title, and interest that he has in any property constituting or derived from proceeds obtained, directly or indirectly, as a result of the offence,” stated the document containing Mr Ponle’s signed plea declaration.

Woodberry was also asked to waive his rights to the luxury cars, and designer watches he had stashed in Dubai.

The high-end automobiles include Rolls Royce Cullinan with vehicle no J9153, Lamborghini Urus (N4973) and Mercedes-Benz G-class (G68816).

Other items seized are four Rolex watches, one Patek Philippe watch, three Audemars Piguet watches, three gold and diamond-studded earrings, and six gold neck chains.

Last year, he forfeited 151.8 Bitcoin to the American government.

On June 10, 2020, Woodberry was arrested in Dubai alongside Ramon Hushpuppi Abbas, who is currently serving an 11-year sentence for a similar fraud charge.

Prior to his arrest, Woodberry was known for rocking and flaunting expensive designer wear and showing off his illicit wealth to his massive Instagram followers, the majority of whom had no idea his luxury lifestyle was funded by cybercrime.