EFCC Arraigns Alleged Internet Fraud Kingpin for $8.5m Scam

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Port Harcourt zonal office, has arraigned one Onwuzuruike Ikenna Kingsley, popularly known as Jeff Sikora, a selfstyled President/Chief Executive Officer of United States-based Prime Trust Credit Union Bank, before Justice A.T. Mohammed of the Federal High Court in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, on an eight-count charge bordering on conspiracy, impersonation, forgery, possession of proceeds and obtaining money by false pretence to the tune of $8, 502,000.

The offence contravenes Section 1 (1) (a) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006, and punishable under Section 1 (3) of the same Act.

One of the counts read: “That you, Onwuzuruike Ikenna Kingsley (aka Jeff Sikora), on or about December 28, 2019, in Umuahia, Abia State, within the jurisdiction of this court, with intent to defraud, did obtain the sum of $6, 500,000.00 through web transfer from one Mr. Selah Elnagar Ali Ahmed, a citizen of Egypt, with the pretence that he is a beneficiary of inheritance funds in a fixed deposit account of Prime Trust Financial Bank in United States, a pretext you knew to be false, and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 1 (1) (a) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Related Offences Act, 2006, and punishable under Section 1 (3) of the same Act.”

The defendant pleaded not guilty when the charges were read to him.