Date Published: 11/24/09

Love Scam: EFCC returns $9,300 to Australian victim

Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Mrs. Farida Waziri, has directed that Rosalind Sumner, an Australian victim of love scam be paid the sum of N514, 212.10 and another $5900  recovered from a Nigerian fraudster.

The payment which is a restitution is in fulfillment of a Lagos State High Court judgment of March 10, 2009, against Lawal Adewale Nurudeen, a graduate of the University of Lagos, who was prosecuted and sentenced to 28 years imprisonment by Hon. M. O. Obadina of the Lagos High Court. 

Nurudeen was first arraigned on November 31, 2008, by the EFCC, on 11 count charge bordering on Advance Fee Fraud. He had defrauded the Australian of the sum of $47, 816.93 in a romance scam. 

The N514, 212.10, was recently recovered from the convict’s bank account in  Sterling Bank while another cash sum of $5900 was recovered from his home. 

The court, in its ruling, also directed that the balance of the money be recovered through the sale of his car, two plots of land and a monthly $250 which would be paid to the victim.

The Queensland Police, Australia as well as the victim have made requests for the recovered funds to be released to the latter in line with the judgment.  In a letter to the Commission, the victim, Rosalind Sumner commended the EFCC for the successful prosecution of the case. 

Consequently, the anti-graft agency on Monday directed that all funds so far recovered from the convict totalling about $9,300 be handed over to the Australian Ambassador to Nigeria for onward delivery to the victim.