Justice Served: Fraudster Sentenced to 12 Years for $1.4m Scam in Lagos

In a significant legal development, businessman Kolawole Erinle has been sentenced to a substantial twelve-year prison term for his involvement in a $1.4 million fraud. The verdict was delivered by Justice R. A. Osodi of the Special Offences Court in Ikeja, Lagos.

Erinle, along with his company, Rinde-Remdex Nigeria Limited, initially faced charges before Justice Oluwatoyin Taiwo of the Special Offences Court in Ikeja on March 11, 2022. Although he initially pleaded “not guilty,” the trial was inconclusive due to Justice Taiwo’s retirement, necessitating the reassignment of the case to Justice Osodi.

On October 28, 2022, Erinle was re-arraigned before Justice Osodi on three counts of charges, including conspiracy, retention of proceeds of criminal conduct, and obtaining money under false pretences, amounting to $1,410,000 (One Million Four Hundred and Ten Thousand United States Dollars).

One of the charges read: “Kolawole Adedayo Erinle and Edward Dada (still at large), sometime in 2019, at Lagos, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, conspired to falsely represent yourselves as J.E. Dunn, a local construction company in America, with the intent to gain monetary advantage in the sum of $1,410,000 (One Million Four Hundred and Ten Thousand United States Dollars) by creating a fake domain name http://jedunn.org. This act constituted an offence contrary to Section 8 of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Related Offences Act No 14, 2006.”

Another count read: “Kolawole Adedayo Erinle, Rinde-Remdex Nigeria Limited, and Edward Dada (still at large) on or about the 3rd day of May 2019, at Lagos, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, retained control of $1,410,000 (One Million Four Hundred and Ten Thousand United States Dollars) in your Access Bank account, which sum you knew to be proceeds of various internet and cybercrime.”

Once again, Erinle pleaded “not guilty” to these charges. Throughout the trial, prosecution counsel T.J. Banjo presented four witnesses and several pieces of documentary evidence to substantiate the case against Erinle and his company.

The prosecution also demonstrated that Erinle had a previous conviction in the United States for bank fraud. Justice Oshodi, on February 10, 2023, revoked Erinle’s bail following evidence that he had not met the bail conditions set by Justice Taiwo.

Subsequently, Erinle took the stand in his own defence, during which he admitted to his previous conviction in the U.S. for bank fraud and expressed a willingness to make restitution to his victim.

On September 26, 2023, Justice Oshodi declared Erinle and his company guilty of the charges and stated that the prosecution had effectively proven the case beyond reasonable doubt. The judge highlighted that Erinle had “spoofed the email address of the financial controller of J.E. Dunn,” engaging in a “premeditated” act to deceive and defraud. As a result, Erinle was sentenced to five years on one count and twelve years on another, to be served concurrently starting from February 10, 2023.

Furthermore, Rinde-Remdex Nigeria Limited was fined N50 million and ordered to be dissolved by the Corporate Affairs Commission, with the proceeds to be forfeited to the Federal Government of Nigeria. Both Erinle and the company were also instructed to make restitution to the victim.

Justice Oshodi further ordered the sale of all properties and vehicles recovered from Erinle and the company by the EFCC, with the proceeds applied towards restitution to the victim through the FBI. The funds recovered by the EFCC were directed to be used as restitution for the victim, “without prejudice for the prosecution and the victim to secure full restitution.”

Erinle’s legal journey began with charges related to defrauding the Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences (KCUMB) in the United States of approximately $1,412,509. The matter went to trial, resulting in his conviction.