A Nigerian have been found guilty by a court of defrauding a pensioner of her $6million.
The man, Raymond Okoye, also known as ‘Uche Parker,’ of Lot 9 Delph Street, Campbellville, Georgetown was found guilty by Magistrate Annette Singh in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts.
He was charged of 10 counts of obtaining money under false pretenses and was remanded to prison. He would handed his sentence on Thursday, November 11, 2021.
On February 25, 2021, Okoye made his first court appearance for the matter and he was slapped with the charges.
He was not required to plead to the 10 indictable charges read to him. The charges alleged that between October 15, 2020 and November 16, 2020, at Georgetown, with intent to defraud, he obtained $6,060,000 from Suruj Dei Balkaran by falsely claiming that he was in possession of a package for Suruj Dei Balkaran.
Okoye preyed on the elderly woman via WhatsApp and Facebook by falsely claiming that he had a package intended for her. He lied to the woman that the package included money and other valuables, which led to her transferring monies from her bank account to other accounts ten times, under the directions of Okoye, since she believed that he, indeed, was in possession of such a package for her.
During the trial before Magistrate Singh, the elderly woman testified that, during the period of October to November 2020, she transferred her life savings totaling $6,060,000 to the accounts of several persons unknown to her on Okoye’s instructions.
She testified that she has been a vendor all her life, and that she believed that the person she met on Facebook did send a package with money for her. Other persons also testified that monies were sent to their accounts, and that they received a percentage after withdrawing the said deposits.
According to the police, Okoye is suspected to be part of a criminal network involving Nigerian nationals, who collaborate with associates to solicit cash from their victims by promising high valued merchandise to be delivered following the payment of a charge or fee.