Instructor arrested for defrauding American couple

Juliana Francis

Intelligence gathering has led to the arrest of a young man who allegedly defrauded a foreigner and his mistress via internet.

The suspect, Olafinraye Adedamola whom detectives from the Special Fraud Unit(SFU), said used to pose as a lady to defraud unsuspecting foreigners via internet, denied being a fraudster, insisting that he was paid by one of his victim some dollars to assist him purchase a building at Ogba, area of Ikeja, Lagos State.

But he allegedly later confessed to the crime.

It was gathered that an intelligence report dated  September, 24, 2013 from Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU), Abuja, addressed to the Commissioner of Police, Special Fraud Unit (SFU) Mr. Tunde Ogunsakin, alleged that Adedamola opened a USD Domiciliary Account No. 273/6980678251/0 with the Demurin, Ketu, Lagos Branch of Sterling Bank Plc and through suspicious circumstances, cumulative sum of USD 42,497 Dollars was paid into the account by unsuspecting victims abroad between 13^th August, 2013 and 16^th September, 2013. 

The suspected illicit inflows were followed by immediate cash withdrawals by the suspect who appeared to have no known affiliation with the international depositors.

SFU operatives swung into action and investigation carried out on the domiciliary account revealed that the sums of $18,129.92 Dollars are still left in the account and a lien was immediately placed on the account.

The suspect was traced to his house address at No. 7, Agidi Road, Oshogun, Alapere, Ketu, Lagos but he evaded police arrest and his father, a proprietor of a moribund driving school feigned ignorance of his son’s whereabouts. 

However, the fleeing suspect was later apprehended by the Police.

Adedamola who posed as a lady Janet by name was born in 1989 in Kosofe LGA Ketu, Lagos. 

An Artisan who trained in construction of aluminum but currently a driving instructor in his father’s moribund driving school located in Ketu, Lagos. 

Initially, he denied the allegation, claiming that he met one Nigerian at a Conference in Malaysia who introduced him to the victim and the

Victim requested that he purchase property for him in Nigeria which was the basis for the disbursement of the money into his account and that he had already bought a building at Ogba, Ikeja for the sum of N4million and that all the documents are with him.

On further interrogation, the suspect confessed to the allegation and admitted that he is an internet fraudster and that the activities leading to his contact and ultimate swindling of the US citizen Jac Spradling and his mistress Janet Kihr of the sum of $42,497 Dollars was done through the internet.

Spokesperson for the Unit, Ngozi Isintume-Agu, who confirmed the incident and arrest of the suspected fraudster, said that investigation was on-going. According to her, efforts were in progress through the appropriate channel to contact the victims of the fraud.