A father has appeared in court in Nigeria for defrauding a Swiss national of US$240,700 through an online scam perpetrated together with his daughter, Nkiruka Blessing Igweneme, who is at large.
Authorities in Nigeria arraigned Moses Igweneme before the Federal High Court in Port Harcourt in the southern Rivers State for the case of defrauding against one Chantal Helene Meadery.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) of Nigeria busted the father-daughter syndicate during a crackdown exercise on internet fraud in the country.
It is alleged that the Igwenemes defrauded Meadery following an encounter on a dating app. There was an arrangement of marriage that would have seen Moses move permanently to Switzerland.
However, according to the complainant, father and daughter feigned several different emergency situations and various other problems that ensnared Maedery into making a total of 16 different money transfers since last year.
She sought the intervention of the Switzerland government, which petitioned Nigerian authorities to investigate.
“Investigations showed that the syndicate has also defrauded other foreigners through their fraudulent dating schemes,” EFCC spokesman, Tony Orilade, said.
The suspect has pleaded not guilty to a four-count charge bordering on conspiracy and money laundering.
He has been remanded in custody pending bail application while his daughter has been declared wanted.
Nigeria has a global reputation for online scams, perpetrated by the so-called Yahoo boys.
