Bamigbola Gbolagunte, Akure
An Ondo State High Court sitting in Akure, the State capital has sentenced a man, Mike Atelemo, to seven years imprisonment for defrauding some people at Ode-Irele in Irele Local Government Area of the State.
The accused person was said to have defrauded his victims between June 2017 and May 2018, collecting a sum of N42.4 million from them under false pretence.
The court noted that the money was obtained from the victims under the guise to help them invest in a ‘Federal Government Empowerment Scheme’ with huge returns at the end of the month.
Atelemo, after duping the victims, fled to Delta State but was later arrested and charged after the complainants petitioned the Department of State Services.
He was arraigned in February 2019 on 14 counts bordering on conspiracy, obtaining money under false pretence and impersonation but pleaded not guilty to the charges.
12 witnesses were called and they narrated how they were paid interest on their first investment but lost all their money later.
Justice Samuel Bola in his judgment said the convict admitted obtaining the money from the complainants with the claim of operating a cooperative society.
He sentenced Atelemo to seven years imprisonment for conspiracy, seven years for obtaining money under false pretence and three years for impersonation.