Court Jails Ponzi Scheme Operator 7 Years In Port Harcourt
Justice A.T. Mohammed of the Federal High Court sitting in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, has convicted and sentenced a fake Ponzi Scheme operator: Umoren Moses Edet to seven years imprisonment for obtaining money under false pretense and issuance of dud cheques.
He was convicted on Friday, June 18, 2021 after being found guilty of a one-count charge bordering on advance fee fraud. He was originally arraigned on Thursday, June 28, 2018 on the same one-count charge and he pleaded ‘not guilty to the charge, leading to a trial that lasted three years.
Specifically, Edet collected a sum of N7, 000,000(Seven Million Naira only) from a petitioner ostensibly for bitcoin transactions. He neither transacted the business nor returned the invested money to the petitioner. This is contrary to Section 1(1) (a) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act No.14, 2006 and punishable under Section 1 (3) of the same Act.
In his judgment, Justice Mohammed found Edet guilty as charged. He was convicted and sentenced to seven years imprisonment without an option of fine. He also ordered that the sum of seven million Naira he defrauded the victim be returned to her.
