Justice Oluwatoyin Taiwo of the an Ikeja Special Offence court on Friday sentenced one Abdulrauf Alade Owolabi to one year imprisonment for possession of false documents and obtaining money by false pretence to the tune of $5,000.
The convict was however given the option of payment of N250,000 to the court in lieu of imprisonment.
The convict was arraigned on a two-count charge by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Lagos Zonal office, on Thursday, February 6, 2020, following his arrest in connection to a case reported against him during an operation tagged “Operation Rewired” between the Commission and the Federal Bureau of Investigations, FBI.
One of the counts reads: “ That you, Abdulrauf Alade Owolabi, sometime in 2018 in Lagos, within the jurisdiction of the court, and with intent to defraud, represented yourself as Courtney Lopez and defrauded one John Howard, an American Citizen, an aggregate sum of $5,000. 00(Five Thousand US Dollars) under the pretext that you are in love with him and made a promise of marriage, a representation you knew to be fraud and committed an offence contrary to Sections 1 (3) of the Advance Fee Fraud and other Fraud Related Offences Act No: 14 of 2006.”
He pleaded guilty to the charge when it was read to him.
During facts and sentencing on Friday, the convict again admitted his guilt.
Justice Taiwo sentenced him accordingly and said the sentence would serve as deterrent to others.