Judge Gives Bitcoin Fraudster Slap on the Wrist with One Month Jail Term

Segun Atanda/

A fraudster was sent to a month in jail today after he was found guilty of Bitcoin and love scam.

Omokaro Osamudianmen Precious was convicted by Justice. A. O. Onovo of the Enugu State High Court on a one-count charge bordering on cheating and  obtaining N1,545,000 under false pretences, contrary to section 388 of CAP 30, Criminal Code Law, Enugu State and punishable under Section 388 of the same Law.

He was arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

Posing as a genuine businessman that deals in Bitcoin, Omokaro who belonged to a syndicate of internet fraudsters had promised the victim through her brother a 10 percent interest on her capital investment within one month.

He pleaded guilty to the one count charge preferred against him

The count says: “That you, Omokaro Osamudianmen sometime in 2018, within the jurisdiction of the High Court of Enugu State, by means of fraudulent trick obtained the sum of N1,545,000.00 (One Million Five Hundred and Forty five Thousand Naira) from one Ifunanya Afam Okonkwo, when you presented yourself to her as a genuine businessman with a promise to pay her interest and return her capital within one month and thereby committed an offence.”

In view of the accused person’s plea, the prosecuting counsel Mbachie Innocent applied to review the facts of the matter presented by the prosecuting witness Abdulraman Babakano and urged the court to convict the accused.

The defense counsel, Kakaan Desmond, on the other hand pleaded with his lordship to temper justice with mercy since the accused is a first offender and did not waste the court’s time by admitting to the crime,

Justice Onovo sentenced the accused to one month imprisonment.

The convict was also involved in a love scam in which he impersonated a US Military personnel deployed for peace keeping mission in Syria to defraud a Philipino lady of N390, 000.

 

 

 

 

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