The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has brought charges against the operator of McHarvey Capital Limited, Benjamin Okenna Ikaa, alongside Chidera Jonas and Ikaa Ejike Benjamin over a $1.6 million fraud.
The charges, including obtaining by false pretense and money laundering, were presented before Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court, Abuja.
One of the charges alleges that the defendants sent electronic messages misrepresenting facts about cryptocurrency investment on their website, mcharveycapital.com, causing financial loss to Monica Garcia in the sum of $1,621,352. Ikaa, the sole defendant present in court, pleaded not guilty.
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The defense requested a brief adjournment, while the prosecution sought a trial date and urged that the defendant be held in EFCC custody during plea negotiations.
Justice Emeka Nwite adjourned the case to December 13, 2023, and remanded Benjamin Okenna Ikaa in the Kuje Correctional Centre.
In a related event, the Lagos Zonal Command of the EFCC arraigned Abdulhamid Isah before Justice I.O. Ijelu of the Lagos State High Court on charges of false pretenses, stealing, and retention of proceeds of criminal conduct.
The defendant obtained $63,590 from Chinedu Ugokwe, falsely representing it as payment for the supply of the equivalent amount in dollars.
Isah pleaded not guilty, and the court granted him N5 million bail with specific conditions, placing him in detention at the Ikoyi Correctional Centre.
The case was adjourned till February 1, 2024.
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