The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has secured the conviction of one Mfon Obot Essien (alias David Morris, Femi James) at the Lagos State High Court, Igbosere.
Justice R. A. Adebiyi convicted Essein on all the Six count charge preferred against him by the EFCC and sentenced him accordingly.
The convict was sentenced to seven years imprisonment for attempting to defraud the family of one Shaliseon Warren by claiming that their daughter Shaliseon was kidnapped and the kidnappers were demanding a ransom of $7,000 USD.
The sentences are to run concurrently, starting from the day of his arrest.
The convict’s journey to prison started when the Commission received a petition dated the 29th day of July 2013, from the United States Department of Homeland Security, seeking its assistance to investigate a transnational criminal organisation involved in drug smuggling, money laundering and fraud activities. It stated that a family, whose daughter travelled to Argentina, got a call from her boyfriend that they had both been kidnapped and a ransom of $7000 was demanded by the kidnappers who wanted the money sent to their associates in Nigeria with the following details “David Morriso,302 Apapa Expressway, Ikeja Lagos.
Investigations revealed there was no kidnap but the lady in question was actually arrested by Argentinean Authorities for attempting to smuggle Cocaine out of Argentina. She claimed that her boyfriend, a Nigeria convinced her to do so. The Homeland Security agents had sought the assistance of Money gram to issue a false funds credit which led to the arrest of the convict by the EFCC when he went to receive the money.