An 18-year-old internet fraudster, Hassan Usman Olamilekan who allegedly transferred his $800 proceed of crime to his grandmother’s account has been jailed for offences bordering on money laundering by Federal High Court, sitting in Ikoyi.
Olamilekan was convicted on Friday, October 30, following his arraignment by the Lagos Zonal Directorate 1 of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on a one-count charge of money laundering, contrary to Section 18(2)(a) and punishable under Section 18(3) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
The EFCC accused the convict of disguising the origin of the sum of $800 in gift cards thereby committing an offence contrary to Section 18(2)(a) and punishable under Section 18(3) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022″.
The defendant pleaded guilty to the charge.
Following his plea, the facts of the case were reviewed by an EFCC operative, Ebuka Abanga.
Abanga told the court that investigations revealed that Olamilekan, 18, who claimed to hail from the Republic of Benin but was born in Nigeria, was involved in lottery scams and operated several social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Zangi and iMessage.
He reportedly met his victim, one Gary Brewer, a United States citizen, through the Zangi application, where he impersonated a white American woman identified as Julie Leach.
Olamilekan told the victim that he had won a lottery prize of $250,000,000 and needed money to activate the winnings before he could claim the prize. He subsequently persuaded the victim to send him gift cards through the Zangi application.
The defendant admitted selling the gift cards through the Cardsonic application, converting them to Naira and transferring the proceeds to his grandmother’s OPay account. He confessed to benefiting from a total of $800 from the fraudulent scheme.
The court subsequently found him guilty and convicted him accordingly.
Justice Dipeolu sentenced to a fine of N200,000 and ordered him to remit the sum of N1,000,000 (One Million Naira) to the Federal Government of Nigeria. He is to remain in the Correctional centre pending the payment of the fine and restitution.
The court also ordered the forfeiture of an iPhone 11 Pro and a Poco C71 mobile phone, being items recovered in connection with the offence.
Olamilekan was among the 21 suspected internet fraudsters arrested by operatives of the Lagos Zonal Directorate 1 of the EFCC during a sting operation at Applewood Estate, Orchid Road, Lekki, Lagos State, on October 26, 2026.