A Kaduna High Court on Tuesday sentenced an estate agent, Emmanuel Aaron, 42 years, to three years imprisonment for defrauding two accommodation seekers of N4.8 million.
Justice Dairus Khobo convicted Aaron of the 2-count charge of obtaining money by false pretense preferred against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Kaduna branch.
He, however, gave him an option of N300, 000 fine.
Delivering his judgment, the Judge said “the convict inflicted untold hardships on the victims, and callously deprived them of their hard-earned money with a false promise of accommodation”.
He said the property which was used by the convict to perpetrate the fraud was actually owned by another person who had leased it to him from 2022 till 2025.
Khobo ordered the convict to pay the sum of N4.8m as restitution to the complainants, Esther Williams and Christian Frank.
He added that in the event the convict failed to pay, he shall serve additional two years imprisonment.
Earlier, the EFCC Prosecutor, Precious Onyeneho, had told the court that Aaron committed the offences between July and Nov. 2023.
He said the convict had collected the sum of N4.8m from the complainants as tenancy and agreement fees.
The prosecutor said that when they wanted to move in, someone was already occupying the house and all efforts made to retrieve their money back proved abortive.
The prosecutor stated that the offences contravened sections 213 and 322 of the Penal Code of Kaduna State, 2017. (NAN)
