Mrs Damilola Adeyeri and her son, Alaba Adeyeri have both been sentenced to three years imprisonment by a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja over an alleged internet fraud, otherwise called “yahoo yahoo”.
Both mother and her son were charged to court by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission on a four-count charge of “fraudulent trick business email compromise” after defrauding an American of $82,570.
According to Channelstv report, the prosecution, Bilikisu Buhari who spoke at the hearing on Tuesday, said that both mother and son conspired with one Kareem Russel who is yet to be accosted, to defraud the Chief Executive Officer of American Cranes Manufacturing Company.
The crime was committed in June 2017, contrary to sections 27(1)(a) and 23(3) of the Cybercrime (Prohibition, Prevention, etc) Act, 2015 and were liable to be punished under Section 22(1) of the same Act, and also sections 421 and 422 of the Criminal Code Act Cap C38. They were eventually arrested September 2019.
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The charge sheet read that Adeyeri and her son “dishonestly representing themselves as the CEO of American Cranes Manufacturing Company and thereafter, sent an email from [email protected] with intent to gain an advantage to themselves.”
After their sentencing, which was based on the sentiment of the court who stated that the accused persons did not waste the time of the court by pleading guilty to the charge, the prosecutor urged the court for forfeiture of the properties acquired by the accused after the fraud.
They include “the sum of N38.8 million, used to buy a property with Adron Homes and Properties, as well as the sum of N21.6 million in the account of Crystal High Homes, domiciled in Polaris bank, N10 million belonging to Alaba Karrem Adeyemi, domiciled in Polaris Bank, $24, 585 USD and another N421, 329, 00 belonging to Mrs Adeyeri and domiciled in Polaris Bank and an IPhone.”