Court Remands Lady For Scamming A German Of $220,000

The Federal High Court in Lagos remanded Cynthia Atuonah, age 21, on Monday after finding her guilty of allegedly scamming a German of $220,000 equivalent to N110 million.

After the defendant entered a plea, Justice Yelim Bogoro ordered her to be kept on remand.

The Police Special Fraud Unit has filed five charges against the defendant for gaining through pretenses, fraud, and unauthorized conversation.

Henry Obiazi, the prosecutor, informed the court that the offenses were committed between January and February 2022 by the defendant.

According to Obiazi, the defendant was successful in deceiving the German citizen by making false statements about her desire to engage in the spa industry.

He testified before the court that the defendant got the funds in equal installments of $10,000, $50,000, $100,000, and $45,000.

Both Section 1(3) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006, and Section 18(3) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022, were broken, according to the prosecutor.

The defendant, however, entered a not-guilty plea to the accusation.

N Ugo, the defendant’s attorney, notified the court of the defendant’s request for bail and pleaded for it to be granted with the fewest restrictions possible.

The prosecutor requested the court to deny the bail application in his response.

The defendant was ordered by Justice Bogoro to remain in the care of the Nigerian Correctional Services until May 19, when a decision would be made.