The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has again arrested at least twenty- five internet fraudsters, including one Solomon Nnamdi Eke, who was parading himself as an agent of the American Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
In a statement on Monday, June 5, via its official Twitter page, the anti-graft agency noted that Eke was operating a Facebook account with the name Kelvin James, impersonating an FBI agent named John Smith.
The Nigerian citizen, however, met his Waterloo following an intelligence report to the EFCC, Truetells Nigeria understands.
The anti-graft agency said its operatives arrested Eke at Kurudu Phase 5, Abuja, alongside 24 other suspected internet fraudsters.
He was subsequently handed three years jail term by a High Court sitting in Kaduna, Kaduna State, presided over by Justice Darius Khobo.
EFCC’s statement on the microblogging platform reads: “The defendant was arrested by the Kaduna Zonal Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission at Kurudu Phase 5, Abuja, alongside 24 others following intelligence on his alleged internet fraud-related activities.
“Investigation revealed that he operated a Facebook account with the name Kelvin James. Further investigation showed he impersonated an agent of the American Federal Bureau of Investigation by the name, John Smith.”
According to EFCC, the one count read, “That you, Solomon Eke (a.k.a Kelvin James) and others now at large, sometimes in July 2022 at Kaduna within the jurisdiction of this court, committed an offence to wit; falsely presented yourself as Kelvin James; a white man and a Trading Manager to several unsuspecting victims via ‘Facebook’ (a social media application) in a bid to lure them into love scam, which pretence you knew to be false and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 142(1) of the Kaduna State Penal Code Law, 2017.”
The anti-graft agency added that the defendant pleaded guilty to the charge and was subsequently sentenced to three years imprisonment with an option of N150, 000 fine and was to forfeit his iPhone 14 Pro Max phone to the Federal Government.