A final year student of Business Administration in a private university located in Ondo State, Fisayo Adetoro has been found guilty of impersonation, forgery and money laundering, and sentenced to cumulative 13 years in prison and N1 million fine.
Adetoro, who was said to be a first class candidate on 4.5 Cumulative Grade Point Aggregate (CGPA), was convicted by Justice Folashade Olubanjo of the Federal High Court 1, Akure, in a criminal case filed against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ibadan zonal office.
He had earlier been arraigned on January 18, 2017 on a six-count charge, but pleaded not guilty to all the charges.
The allegations, according to the charge sheet, include falsely representing himself to be Bawa Mohammed Sanni to defraud his victims of thousands of US dollars.
He was also accused of using the fake name to register for a Nigerian Driver’s Licence bearing his photograph, as well as laundering sums running to millions of naira.
The EFCC, represented by Ben Ubi and Sanusi Galadanchi, called five witnesses, including two victims of his money laundering activities, to prove its case, while the accused called three witnesses.
After evaluating the arguments on both sides, the presiding judge found Adetoro guilty in four of the six charges.
He was sentenced to two years for falsification of documents (count 2) and three years for altering official document (counts 3 and 4).
The court sentenced him to five years imprisonment with a fine of N1 million for money laundering (count 6). The jail terms are to run concurrently.
Olubanjo, however, considered the convict for suspended sentence of six months community service.
The judge yielded to his counsel’s pleads which were premised on his health, academic standing and the fact that he had refunded all the money he fraudulently collected.
The suspended sentence, according to the court, would only stand if he observes the days without breaking.
Join BusinessDay whatsapp Channel, to stay up to date
Open In Whatsapp
