Justice S. Pam of the Federal High Court in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, has convicted and sentenced two internet fraudsters, Emmanuel Wisdom and Donald Etege, to two years in prison each for impersonation and obtaining money under false pretenses.
In a statement released on its X page on Wednesday, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) reported that the two were sentenced on Tuesday after being arraigned by the Port Harcourt Zonal Directorate of the Commission on separate one-count charges related to these offenses.
The lone count against Eteg’s reads: “That yo Donald Etege sometime in 2024 in Port Harcourt Rivers State within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court with the intent to defraud obtained the total sum of One Thousand Five Hundred Dollars Only ($1,500) from one Lisa.
“Ricks under the pretence that you are a Bitcoin Trader, a pretence you knew to be false and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 1 (1) (a) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006 and punishable under Section 1(3) of the said Act.”
The count against Wisdom reads: “That you, Emmanuel Wisdom [a.k.a Sam Freidrich] between the 10th day of August and the 1st day of October, 2024, in Port Harcourt, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, obtained the sum of One Thousand, Two Hundred United States of America Dollars ($1,200) from one Tony Grozdan, as investment in cryptocurrency trade, which you claimed to have the capacity to manage and yield profit thereon, which pretext you knew to be false and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 1(1) (b) of the Advanced Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006 and punishable under Section 1(3) of the Same Act.”
Both defendants pleaded guilty when the charges were presented to them separately.
In light of their pleas, prosecution counsel K.W. Chukwuma-Eneh and E.K. Bakam called witnesses and submitted several documents as evidence, all of which were accepted by the court and marked as exhibits.
They requested the court to convict and sentence the defendants accordingly.
Counsel for the defendants, O.F. Nwogu and C. Christopher, did not oppose the prosecution’s request. Instead, they urged the court to temper justice with mercy, highlighting that their clients were first-time offenders with no prior criminal records.
Justice Pam subsequently convicted and sentenced each defendant to two years of imprisonment, with an alternative option of a fine of N200,000, payable into the Consolidated Revenue Account of the Federal Government of Nigeria.
The judge also ordered the forfeiture of all phones recovered from the defendants to the government as they were deemed proceeds of crime.
Additionally, the defendants were instructed to depose an affidavit of good behavior before the court.
Etege and Wisdom began their journey into the Correctional Service after their arrest by operatives of the Commission in October 2024 for internet fraud and related activities.
They were subsequently charged and convicted in court.
