A couple in Oyo State of Nigeria got 80 years imprisonment for committing conspiracy and obtaining by false pretence.
Ebiesuwa Abayomi Fredrick and his wife, Tinuola Idayat Oyegunle were jailed 40 years each by Federal High Court in Ibadan, Oyo State, February 15.
Delivering judgment, Justice Joyce Abdulmalik found the couple guilty on all four counts of conspiracy and obtaining by false pretence brought against them by the Ibadan Zonal office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.
In a classic advance fee fraud scheme, the couple scammed one Dunni Olateru Olagbegi of N53,713,260.00 (Fifty-Three Million, Seven Hundred and Thirteen Thousand, Two Hundred and Sixty Naira) in cash and bank transfer.
They claimed they were performing a spiritual cleansing in order to avoid calamitous consequence of mysterious sudden death having heard conversation by the syndicate about a Ghana-Must-Go bag stuffed with United States Dollar bills in the boot of a car. The victim was also tricked into bringing funds to cleanse supposed USD bills.
The victim had sometime in May 2013, boarded a taxi with three other passengers who, unknown to her, were members of a syndicate of fraudsters.
As soon as she entered the vehicle, she heard the three other supposed passengers arguing about a Ghana-Must-Go bag filled with US Dollars in the boot of the car.
Moments later, one of the syndicate members told her that she must be cleansed to avert sudden and mysterious death, having heard their discussion.
She was taken to an unknown destination, where she subsequently started giving the defendants, and the other members of the syndicate, who are currently at large, various sums in cash and bank payment, totaling N53,713,260 which she allegedly sourced from the sale of her properties in both Ibadan and Lagos, to buy instruments for the cleansing of United States Dollar notes, according to EFCC.
