Williams Kingsley, a beautician, was sentenced to prison for online fraud by Justice M.A. Onyetenu of the Federal High Court in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State.
Kingsley was charged with one count of possession of fictitious papers by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission’s Uyo Zonal Command.
The lone-count charge reads: “That you, Kingsley Williams “M” sometimes in 2022, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court did possess documents containing false pretences and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 6 of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud- Related Offences Act 2006 and punishable under Section 1 (3) of the same Act”.
When the accusation was read to him, he entered a plea of guilty.
Enobong Ubokudom, the EFCC’s attorney, examined the case’s facts in light of the defendant’s plea and presented the defendant’s confessional remarks, his laptop, and false papers, all of which were admitted as exhibits A, B, C, and D. Ubokudom then asked the court to find Kingsley guilty on all charges.
Francis Ezike, the defense attorney, pleaded with the judge to temper justice with kindness and impose a lighter term on his client, who was a “first-time offender.” He was given a four-month jail term without the possibility of a fine by Justice Onyetenu.
The punishment is effective as of the arrest date. The laptop that was used in the crime was also ordered to be forfeited to the federal authorities by the court. On November 4, 2022, Kingsley was apprehended by Commission agents as a result of actionable intelligence regarding his online illegal activities. This marked the beginning of Kingsley’s path to prison.
Investigations after the suspect’s detention showed that his area of expertise was employment fraud. His tactics include seducing his victims with promises of jobs that never materialized and tricking them into paying for counterfeit working supplies for the false jobs.
