January 09, 2025
By Ayinde Adeleke
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has secured the conviction of Chima Hyginus Nkwocha, also known as “Young Billionaire,” for cheating by impersonation and money laundering.
Nkwocha was sentenced to two years in prison on Tuesday, December 31, 2024.
Nkwocha was arraigned before Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court, Maitama, Abuja, on a two-count charge bordering on cheating by impersonation and money laundering.
According to the charges, Nkwocha fraudulently impersonated Frank Nils, Frank Cobert, Frank Brown, and Chiress Riffatt on Gmail and Google Voice, using the email addresses [email protected] and [email protected], to defraud Linda Wheeler, an American, of $345,000.
The defendant pleaded guilty to the charges, and prosecution counsel, Lanre Adeola Olanrewaju, reviewed the case against Nkwocha, praying the court to convict him accordingly.
Olanrewaju revealed that Nkwocha was arrested in August 2024 at the Lugbe area of Abuja, following intelligence received by the EFCC’s Advanced Fee Fraud Section.
Items recovered during his arrest included a black Mercedes Benz ML 350, gold jewelry, $2,200 cash, N90,280,934.00 in the Ginux Global Nigeria Ltd Zenith Bank account, properties in Lagos, Abuja, and Lekki, and electronic devices. Nkwocha confessed to impersonating Frank Nils, Frank Cobert, Frank Brown, and Chiress Riffatt to defraud Linda Wheeler of $345,000.
Justice Nwite found Nkwocha guilty and sentenced him to two years’ imprisonment with an option of a fine of N2,000,000.
The court also ordered the forfeiture of the recovered items, being proceeds of crime, to the Federal Government of Nigeria.
