The Federal High Court in Maitama, Abuja, has sentenced Chima Hyginus Nkwocha, popularly known as ‘Young Billionaire,’ to prison for cheating by impersonation and money laundering after the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) charged him with two counts bordering on cheating by impersonation and money laundering.
According to the statement issued on Wednesday by Dele Oyewale, EFCC Head of Media and Publicity, Justice Emeka Nwite sentenced him on Tuesday, December 31, 2024.
Nkwocha was found guilty of fraudulently obtaining $345,000 from Linda Wheeler, an American.
One of the counts read: “That you, Chima Hyginus Nkwocha (aka Frank Nils, Frank Cobert, Frank Brown & Chettot), sometime in 2022 in Abuja within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, did fraudulently impersonate Frank Nils, Frank Cobert, Frank Brown, and Chiress Riffatt on Gmail and Google Voice using the Gmail addresses frankcorbett272@gmail.com and chriressrifatt@gmail.com with intent to defraud, fraudulently obtaining a cumulative sum of Three Hundred and Forty-Five Thousand Dollars ($345,000) from Linda Wheeler, an American, and receiving the naira equivalent through Ginux Global Nigeria Limited with account No. 1228782493 domiciled in Zenith Bank, thereby committing an offence contrary to Section 22(2) of the Cyber Crimes (Prohibition, Prevention, Etc.) Act, 2015 and punishable under Section 22(4) of the Act.”
The defendant pleaded guilty to the charges when read to him.
Following his guilty plea, prosecution counsel, Lanre Adeola Olariwaju, reviewed the case against Nkwocha and pleaded with the court to convict him accordingly.
According to Olariwaju, the convict was arrested in August 2024 at the Lugbe area of Abuja following intelligence received by the EFCC’s Advanced Fee Fraud Section.
Items recovered during his arrest included a “black Mercedes Benz ML 350 with registration no. B-2 and Chassis no. 4JGDA5HB9DA105827, two gold necklaces with pendants, one gold bracelet, $2,200 cash, N90,280,934.00 in the Ginux Global Nigeria Ltd Zenith Bank (account no. 1228782493), for which Nkwocha was the sole signatory”.
Others are a “three-bedroom terrace duplex at Cookies Court 2, 2nd Avenue, Ocean Palm Estate, Ogombo, Sangotedo, Ajah, Lagos, a three-bedroom bungalow and two self-contained apartments situated on Plot B023, Standard Estate, Galadima, Abuja, and a plot of land measuring about 300 square meters at Eko Beach City, Lekki Phase 1, Lagos, two Zenith Bank drafts worth N5,000,000 and N3,000,000, dated September 12, 2024, and October 17, 2024, respectively. An iPhone 13 Pro Max, a Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra, and a Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra”.
Nkwocha confessed to impersonating Frank Nils, Frank Cobert, Frank Brown, and Chiress Riffatt using Gmail and google voice to defraud Linda Wheeler, an American, of $345,000.
He received the naira equivalent through Ginux Global Nigeria Ltd’s Zenith Bank account.
Olariwaju tendered several pieces of evidence, including the defendant’s extrajudicial statements, electronic devices, and forensic investigation reports.
The defence raised no objections and the court admitted all evidence as exhibits.
Justice Nwite, satisfied with the EFCC’s submissions, found Nkwocha guilty. The court sentenced him to two years in prison with an option of a fine of N2,000,000.
Additionally, the court ordered the forfeiture of the following items, being proceeds of crime, to the Federal Government of Nigeria: a black Mercedes Benz ML 350, gold jewelry and $2,200 cash, N90,280,934.00 in the Ginux Global Nigeria Ltd Zenith Bank account, properties in Lagos and Abuja, Zenith Bank drafts and electronic devices recovered from the convict.