The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has convicted Dennis Tamarakuro for stealing $71,795.41 from a U.S.-based charity, Pregnancy Support Network.
Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court in Maitama, Abuja, delivered the judgment after Tamarakuro pleaded guilty to a single charge of cybercrime.
In December 2024, he pretended to be Keisha Reynolds, a U.S. investor, and tricked a man named Philbert into sending him the money via Bybit, which violated the Cybercrime Act of 2015, as amended in 2024.
During the trial, EFCC investigator Ogunjobi Olalekan explained that U.S. authorities discovered the NGO’s funds were stolen through a romance scam that turned into a money mule operation.
The money passed through intermediaries, including a suspect called Libson Junior, before being converted to cryptocurrency and traced to Tamarakuro’s Bybit account. After being arrested, Tamarakuro admitted the crime and gave a voluntary statement while accompanied by his lawyer.
Investigators confirmed he received two payments of 0.27 Bitcoin from Libson Junior and later withdrew $18,000 worth of cryptocurrency via the Busha exchange.
The EFCC recovered $22,157.40 from Bybit and $20,121.41 from Busha, totaling over $42,000, while the remaining money was blocked by a U.S. bank. Tamarakuro’s statements and exchange records were used as evidence in court.
Justice Nwite sentenced him to one year in prison or an alternative fine of N1 million, ordered the recovered funds returned to the NGO, and directed him to swear an affidavit of good conduct.
Tamarakuro’s lawyer, Laye Aeemokoya, asked the court for leniency, noting that he is a first-time offender and the primary caregiver for his elderly mother.
This conviction comes as the EFCC intensifies its fight against fraud. In recent months, the Commission arrested Ahamba Tochukwu, CEO of Gavice Logistics, for a Ponzi scheme that defrauded over 400 investors of more than N2 billion.
Earlier this year, EFCC also arraigned Precious Williams, a director at Glossolalia Nigeria Ltd and Pelegend Nigeria Ltd, in connection with a N13.8 billion Ponzi scheme linked to Maxwell Chizi Odum of MBA Trading and Capital Investment Ltd, who remains at large.
