The Independent Corrupt Practices Commission, ICPC, has secured the conviction of two fraudsters, Aso Morrison and Frank Biobarakuma.
The suspects were first arraigned sometime in March 2013, before Justice B. Georgewill of Rivers State High Court on a 17-count charge of conspiracy, forgery and obtaining by false pretence. They were convicted and sentenced to seven years imprisonment each this month.
The court was informed of how the convicts and others at large between the month of March 2012 and February 2013, in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, fraudulently obtained $260,000 and $402,300 from one Mr. Jung Yongmin, a South Korean, under the pretece to sell Nigerian crude oil to him.
Their actions were contrary to Sections 1 and 8 of the Advanced Fee Fraud and Other Related Offences Act, 2004 and Section 467 of the Criminal Code Act, 2004.
The convicts had earlier entered a “not guilty” plea when the charges were brought before them.
However, it was only recently that the trial judge, Justice S. Amadi, Chief Judge of Rivers State, who inherited the case after the elevation of Justice Georgewill to the Court of Appeal, found the convicts guilty on all 17 counts.
In their allocutus to the court, defence counsel pleaded that the convicts were first-time offenders, who have children to cater for and that the court should consider a non-custodial sentencing which was not granted.
Handing down judgment, Justice Amadi sentenced the duo to three years in prison for counts one to four; seven years in prison for counts five and six; three years for count seven to 17 without any option of fine.
The sentences are to run concurrently.