The Port Harcourt zonal office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has arraigned Onwuzuruike Kingsley Ikenna over alleged internet fraud.
Onwuzuruike Kingsley Ikenna, popularly known as Jeff Sikora or as Nwanta Anayoeze Yonaracha, paraded himself as a self-styled President/ Chief Executive Officer of United States-based Prime Trust Credit Union Bank.
On June 30, he was arraigned before Justice A.T. Mohammed of the Federal High Court sitting in Port Harcourt, Rivers State on an eight-count charge bordering on conspiracy, impersonation, forgery, possession of proceeds and obtaining money by false pretence to the tune of Eight Million, Five Hundred and Two Thousand Dollars ($8,502,000.00).
According to EFCC, the offence contravenes Section 1 (1) (a) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006 and punishable under Section 1 (3) of the same Act
One of the counts read: “That you, Onwuzuruike Ikenna Kingsley (aka Jeff Sikora), on or about December 28, 2019, in Umuahia, Abia State, within the jurisdiction of this court, with intent to defraud, did obtain the sum of $6, 500,000.00 through web transfer from one Mr Selah Elnagar Ali Ahmed, a citizen of Egypt, with the pretence that he is a beneficiary of inheritance funds in a fixed deposit account of Prime Trust Financial Bank in the United States, a pretext you knew to be false, and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 1 (1) (a) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Related Offences Act, 2006, and punishable under Section 1 (3) of the same Act.”
The defendant pleaded not guilty when the charges were read to him.