The Lagos Division of the Federal High Court in Lagos has sentenced a fraudster, Dele Asulemon.
He was fined N250,000 for scamming people on social media. The court also gave the convict a non-custodial sentence of six months.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) arraigned the convict before Justice Kehinde Ogundare on a one-count charge of cybercrime.
He pleaded guilty to the charge.
Following his plea, the prosecutor, Abbas Muhammed, reviewed the case’s facts through a witness, Usman Ahmed, an operative with the EFCC.
The witness narrated to the court how the defendant was apprehended with iPhone 8 and iPhone 11, which the anti-graft agency subjected to forensic examination.
He added that fraudulent and incriminating documents were printed out from the said mobile gadgets in the defendant’s presence, who endorsed the same thereafter.
Mr Ahmed told the court that the defendant’s statement was obtained under caution in which he admitted to being involved in a betting scam.
The witness also said the defendant misrepresented himself on Facebook and Instagram as a lady from the U.S. in search of love and affection.
He said it was discovered that the defendant had benefitted N200,000 from his illicit activities.
The prosecutor tendered the printed documents from the defendant’s phone, his extrajudicial statement, and the iPhones.
The court admitted the evidence and marked them as exhibits.
The prosecutor, thereafter, urged the court to proceed and convict the defendant based on his plea and the facts presented by the prosecution.
The judge found the defendant guilty of the charge and convicted him.
Before the sentence, the defence counsel begged the court to show mercy on the defendant for being a first offender.
He also urged the court to issue a non-custodial sentence.
Delivering judgement afterwards, the court sentenced the convict to a fine of N250,000 or six months of non-custodial sentence.
The court also ordered the iPhones 8 and 11 to be forfeited to the federal government.
The defendant was said to have committed the offence between July and September 2023 in the charge.
He was said to have impersonated Chloe Downlas by holding himself out as such on Facebook and Instagram.
(NAN)