Woman allegedly defrauds victims of N179m, uses N139m to play sport betting

A Nigerian woman identified as, Nkechi Mercy Ikogwe, was arraigned before a Rivers state High court, for allegedly defrauding people of N179 million.
Nkechi Mercy Ikogwe was arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Port Harcourt’s Zonal office.

She was arraigned alongside two companies, Elites Finance Investment Limited and Efinc Global Investment Limited, on a three-count charge bordering on conspiracy and obtaining money by false pretence contrary to Section 1(1) (a) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act No. 14, 2006 and punishable under Section 1 (3) of the same Act.
One of the counts against the defendants read:

“That you Nkechi Mercy Ikogwe, Elites Finance Investment Limited and Efinc Global Investment Limited sometime in 2019 in Port Harcourt, Rivers State within the jurisdiction of this honorable court with intent to defraud, obtained the sum of One Hundred and Seventy Nine Million, Three Hundred and Twenty Six Thousand, Three Hundred and Eighty Six Naira,Sixty Two Kobo (179,326,386.62) by inducing unsuspecting members of the public to invest with your companies: Elites Finance Investment Limited and Efinc Global Investment Limited, assuring them under a false pretence of making 15% interest on all investment made, a representation you knew to be false, and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 1(1) (a) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act No. 14, 2006 and punishable under Section 1 (3) of the same Act”.

The defendants pleaded “not guilty” when the charges were read to them.

Nkechi Mercy Ikogwe ran into trouble when the EFCC received a report about the defendant and two others, accusing them of inducing their victims into participating in a fraudulent investment scheme with a fake promise of 15 per cent return on investment.
Over Fifteen Million Naira (N15,000,000.00) was paid by the unsuspecting ‘investors’ into the defendant’s accounts, Nkechi Mercy Ikogwe with account numbers 2087478165 domiciled in Zenith Bank and Miss Joy Okari Ibiala 2099253758 domiciled in UBA
Further investigation revealed that the defendant spent a total sum of N139,704,097 collected from subscribers to play sport betting and also paid tithe of N1m to a leading Pentecostal church in Port Harcourt.