The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Enugu Zonal office on December 2, 2019, secured the conviction of Kingsley Nwegwu and Joakim Nwegwu, both managing directors of ACJEC Global Services Ltd.
The Nwegwu brothers, who are siblings, were convicted by Justice
M.L. Abubakar of the Federal High Court, Awka, Anambra State before whom they
were charged with 50 counts bordering on conspiracy and obtaining money by
false pretence to the tune of N98.7million.
This
is also as victims of the fraudulent brothers have condemned the conviction,
describing it as a mere slap on the wrist.
Crimefacts.news reports that their journey to prison began in 2011 when the
EFCC received petitions against them from some victims who alleged that they
were lured to invest the said money in ACJEC Global Services Ltd with the
promise of mouth-watering 30- 34 percent interest annually on their investments
to be paid to them.
The petitioners alleged that after investing the said money they never got the
interest nor the capital invested in the company.
Investigations carried out by the EFCC further revealed that more than N4
billion was paid into the accounts of the convicts by their victims, numbering
over 200, in what turned out to be a Ponzi Scheme of sorts. One of the victims
was said to have invested more than N50million.
Count 15 of the charges against them reads: “That you, Kingsley Chinedu Nwegwu,
Chetachukwu Joakim Nwegwu and ACJEC Global Services Ltd, on or about the 23rd
of March, 2011 at Awka, Anambra State within the jurisdiction of the Federal
High Court of Nigeria, with intent to defraud, obtained by false pretense the
sum of N15,000,000.00 (Fifteen million naira) from Okeke Osita Samuel when you
represented that the said amount of money was an investment in a business of
partnership venture which would generate more financial income for the said
Okeke Osita Samuel, a pretense you knew to be false and thereby committed an
offence contrary to section 1(1) b of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud
Related Offences Act No.14 of 2006 and punishable under Section 1(3) of the
same Act.”
After reviewing the evidences brought by the EFCC against them, Justice
Abubakar held that the prosecution proved its case beyond every reasonable
doubts, and so, convicted them accordingly.
While sentencing them to one year in prison, the trial judge further ordered
that all the properties traced to them in the course of investigations, should
be forfeited to the Federal Government. He also gave them an option of fine of
N1million each.
However, many of their victims, who had thronged the court premises, expressed
dissatisfaction over the sentencing to one year imprisonment by the court, and particularly
the option of N1million.
