An American lawyer, Nicole Kierulff Sayers, has recounted how a Nigerian, one Nwachi Chidozie Kingsley, and his family conspired to defraud her of $370,000 through a romantic scam and false promises of a contract with the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing.
Sayers, while testifying at a High Court sitting in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) on Wednesday, said Kingsley first established contact with her on Facebook.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), which disclosed these in a statement released on Friday, said Kingsley is being prosecuted on two counts of stealing, obtaining by false pretence and criminal possession of fake documents totalling $370,000.
One of the counts against him read: “That you, Nwachi Chidozie Kingsley sometime in 2021 in Abuja, within the jurisdiction of the High Court of Federal Capital Territory, Abuja with intent to defraud obtained the total sum of $370,000 from Nicole Kierulff Sayers under the false pretence of being a purported payment to finance a contract with the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing with Contract No: RC/FGN/0275AN/20 issued to Nwachi Chidozie Kingsley, a claim which you knew to be false and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 1(1)(b) of Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006 and punishable under Section 1(3) of the same Act.”
During Wednesday’s trial, Sayers, the third prosecution witness (PW3), was led in evidence by prosecution counsel Fatsuma Muhammad.
She identified Kingsley in court, recounting how he initially contacted her via Facebook on her birthday, claiming to share the same spiritual beliefs.
“I know the defendant; the defendant messaged me on Facebook on my birthday and he said he was a member of the same spiritual organisation with me. We engaged in romantic discussions and phrases and we engaged in conversations that escalated into a relationship of a romantic type,” Sayers said.
This connection, according to her, soon escalated into a romantic relationship, during which Kingsley allegedly manipulated her into transferring funds.
Sayers told the court that the defendant asked her for money to finance the award of a contract by the Ministry of Works and Housing, claiming that some men were threatening his life if he didn’t provide money to secure the contract.
“Before we met each other, he had asked me for money about 11 days before, and his reason for asking for the money, according to him, was for the award of a contract by the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing and alleged that some men were threatening his life if he did not provide the money to secure the contract.
“He asked me for help and supplied me with the details of the contract and logo and all the information. I believed that because I was in a vulnerable state and I had developed an emotional connection with him,” she added.
According to her, the defendant told her that if she gave him $15,000, he would repay her within 45 days, and she believed him and transferred the money to the defendant with an instruction to repay her the money.
Sayers also described how Kingsley involved his family in the deception, including a FaceTime video call during which she was introduced to his parents, siblings, and even his alleged two-year-old daughter.
She described how she transferred the money and met the defendant’s family, saying, “I transferred the money using a money transfer app; he received it, and within one week, he asked me to join him in a FaceTime video with his family.”
“This was his parent’s house and his entire family was there, which included his sister Doris Nwachi, Kenneth Nwachi, his sister-in-law, Loveline, his father Chizom, his mother Victoria, and his alleged daughter, Princess, who was then two years old.”