Alleged Nigerian fraudster, Olalekan Ponle a.k.a Mr Woodberry who’s held in the United States for alleged multi-million-dollar fraud, has been indicted by the grand jury, a group of lawyers empowered to conduct legal proceedings and investigate potential criminal conduct. Mr Woodberry, and his associate Ramoni Abbas, also known as Hushpuppi, were arrested in the United Arab Emirates on June 10 for multiple fraud charges after a raid by operatives of the Dubai crime unit in collaboration with FBI.
According to the complaint, an unnamed Chicago company was defrauded into sending wire transfers totalling $15.2 million (N5.8billion).
Companies based in Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, New York and California also were victims of the fraud, prosecutors say. Recall that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) nabbed Mr Ponle through details accessed from his WhatsApp, iPhone and Bitcoin transactions. He was extradited to the United States on July 2.
The 29-year-old is currently facing charges bordering on wire fraud Conspiracy at a United States District Court sitting in Illinois.
His first appearance in court was on July 3, after which the preliminary hearing was set for July 16 before Judge Jeffrey T Gilbert.