Justice Olubunmi Abike-Fadipe of the Special Offences Court sitting in Ikeja, Lagos, has convicted and sentenced Henry Daniel to one year imprisonment for defrauding an investor of N37 million in a foreign exchange scheme. The court also ordered the convict to pay N15.6 million in restitution to the victim, undertake 50 hours of community service, and pay a N2 million fine as part of the sentence.
Daniel was prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on a two-count charge bordering on obtaining money by false pretence and stealing, after he allegedly collected the funds under the guise of investing in forex trading but failed to invest or refund the money.
Count one reads: “That you, Daniel Henry (trading under the name and style of Equigro Financial Services), sometime between January and October 2020, in Lagos within the jurisdiction of this Honourable court, with intent to defraud, obtained the sum of N37,000,000 (Thirty Seven Million Naira) by false pretence from Mr. Eze Onyekachukwu by falsely representing to him that the said sum represents investment in forex trading business and committed the offence of obtaining money by false pretence, contrary to Sections 1(3) and 8(a) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act No 14 of 2006.”
Count two reads: “That you, Daniel Henry, ( trading under the name and style of Equigro Financial Services), sometime between January and October 2020 in Lagos, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, stole by fraudulently converting to your own use the sum of Thirty Seven Million Naira (37,000,000.00), property of Mr. Eze Onyekachukwu and committed the offence of stealing contrary to Section 278(1) (a) and (b) and section 285 (1) of the Criminal Law of Lagos State of Nigeria 2011.”
The defendant pleaded “not guilty” to the charge, thereby leading to his full trial.
During the trial, the prosecution counsel, Babatunde Sonoiki, presented three witnesses and tendered several documents, which were admitted in evidence by the court.
Delivering judgment, Justice Fadipe found him guilty and sentenced him to one year imprisonment, with an option of a fine of N2,000,000 (Two Million Naira).
The court also ordered him to undertake 50 hours of community service and make restitution of N15,600,000 to the petitioner.
The convict’s road to the Correctional Centre began when he was arrested by operatives of the EFCC for obtaining the sum of N37,000,000 (Thirty Seven Million Naira) by false pretence from Mr. Eze Onyekachukwu in the guise of getting him into investment in forex. He neither invested the funds in forex nor returned the money to the petitioner.
