THE Federal High Court in Ikoyi, Lagos, has found a Peer-to-Peer (P2P) crypto trader named Lawrence Success Karinate guilty of computer-related fraud.
According to a statement issued by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) today, Justice Nicholas Oweibo convicted Karinate, who was tried by its Lagos Zonal Command.
According to the EFCC, Karinate was charged with a single count of cybercrime, an offense punishable under Section 22(2)(b) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition etc.) Act, 2015.
“That you Lawrence Success Karinate, sometime in 2023, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, with intent to defraud, fraudulently held out yourself on social media platforms, as a female, bearing the name “Jessie Randall”, a fashion influencer, to unsuspecting members of the public, with intent to gain advantage for yourself and you thereby committed an offence, contrary to and punishable under Section 22(2)(b) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition etc.) Act, 2015,” the count read.
Karinate pleaded “guilty” to the one-count charge brought against him, and following his guilty plea, EFCC counsel Usman Abubakar Ahmad invited a witness, Taiwo Owolabi, an anti-graft commission officer, to review the facts of the case.
Owolabi stated that the defendant, together with others, was arrested on May 26, 2023 in the Lekki area of Lagos State.
“Upon his arrest, he was brought to the EFCC office, where his iPhone and HP computer were analyzed,” the EFCC said.
“Fraudulent documents were printed out from his devices and he made restitution to the tune of N100,000.00 (One Hundred Thousand Naira).
“He was further interrogated, and admitted to have engaged in a pig-butchering scam and benefitted the sum of $2000 (Two Thousand United States Dollars) from it.”
According to the EFCC, the pig butchering scam is a type of fraud in which criminals entice victims into digital relationship in order to gain their trust before encouraging them to invest in cryptocurrency platforms.
Usman thus requested that the defendant’s extrajudicial statement, fake documents printed from his iPhone and laptop computer, as well as the management cheque issued by him, be admitted as evidence.
Justice Oweibo accepted them as exhibits A, B, C, C1, D, and E, and convicted him as accused.
Karinate expressed regret for his role in the unlawful conduct in his allocutus and pledged the court that he would never engage in internet fraud again.
Chikezie Kingsley, his counsel, pleaded with the court for clemency, emphasizing that the defendant was a first-time offender.
Justice Oweibo in his decision, sentenced him to a N200,000 fine.
