EFCC Arrests And Recover $2,000 From Scammer

A suspected fraudster, Benjamin Akugbe, has been nabbed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission for his involvement in a love scam.

Akugbe was accused by the EFCC of duping an American, based in Sherman, Texas, Margaret Sanders, of $2,000.

The EFCC spokesman, Wilson Uwujaren, explained that the suspect collected the sum to enable him travel to the US and marry the victim.

He added that after he received the money, he suddenly became silent, prompting the American to contact the EFCC.

He said, “Sanders, through a petition dated July 9, 2013, alleged that she entered into a relationship on the Facebook, with someone who claimed to be Benny Brown from Warri, Delta State, with both agreeing to get married.

“According to her, the suspect, in the course of the affair, requested the sum of $2,000 to enable him to travel to the United States of America to join her.

“The money was wired to him through the Western Union, into an account with the name, Gladdys Ikpoba, domiciled with a new generation bank.

“After an endless wait for the lover, Sanders came to the sad realisation that she had been duped. Her efforts to recover the money were unsuccessful, leaving her with no choice but to petition the EFCC.”

The EFCC spokesman added that the commission, through “discrete investigation”, managed to trace the suspect, recovered and returned the money to the victim.

He said, “The EFCC successfully recovered the sum of $2000.00 which Sanders lost to the suspected Nigerian fraudster, Benjamin Akugbe, in a romance scam.”