Court sentences man to 6 months jail for $2,000 fraud

<p>An FCT High Court in Kubwa, on Thursday, sentenced one Kingsley Edomwonyi to six months in the correctional facility for $2,000 food stamp fraud.</p>, <p>Justice Asmau Akanbi-Yusuf convicted and sentenced Edomwonyi after he pleaded guilty to the offence of obtaining by false pretences.</p>, <p>She, however, granted the convict an option to pay a N250,000 fine in place of the jail term.</p>, <p>Akanbi-Yusuf also ordered that the items recovered from Edomwonyi should be returned to the owners as stated in the plea bargain agreement.</p>, <p>The judge advised the convict to desist from committing crimes and be of good behaviour.</p>, <p>Earlier, the defence counsel, Mrs Precious Oriaku, had pleaded with the court to temper justice with mercy.</p>, <p>“I pray for the court to exercise its discretion with leniency. Edomwonyi is remorseful and understands the gravity of his offence.</p>, <p>“He is a family man whose wife just gave birth,” Oriaku said.</p>, <p>The prosecution counsel, Mrs Ijeabalum Diribe, however, did not object to the plea for leniency.</p>, <p>The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Diribe told the court that Edomwonyi and his defence counsel had entered and signed a plea bargain dated Feb. 28, and filed in March.</p>, <p>She urged the court to sentence and convict Edomwonyi in line with the terms of the plea bargain entered.</p>, <p>The counsel said that some of Edomwonyi’s emails were attached to the evidence including money returned, his cellphone and two laptops, which were tendered in court.</p>, <p>The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) charged Edomwonyi with cheating, to which he pleaded guilty.</p>, <p>Diribe said that Edomwonyi fraudulently used fake email accounts and social security numbers of U.S citizens to apply and collect food stamps to the tune of $2000.</p>, <p>She said Edomwonyi committed the crime sometime in 2021, adding that the offence contravened the provisions of Section 320 of the Penal Code Act.</p>