Two brothers, Christian Ajim and Onubuogu Ajim, have been arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on charges of impersonation, money laundering, and defrauding an American woman of $43,850 and N18.675 million.
The duo, who appeared before Judge Mohammed Umar at the Federal High Court in Enugu on November 28, pleaded not guilty to all four counts. They were charged with using fraudulent social media accounts to carry out the scam, primarily targeting the victim, Chebet Chumba, with whom they allegedly developed a fake romantic relationship to extract money.
EFCC’s prosecuting counsel, Michael Ani, requested a trial date and for the brothers to be remanded at the Enugu State Correctional Facility pending further proceedings. Judge Umar granted the request and set the bail application hearing for January 21, 2025.
According to the EFCC’s statement, the investigation into the case began after Chumba reported the scam. The commission discovered that the brothers specialized in love scams, using fake Facebook profiles to deceive their victim. They also possessed fraudulent documents related to the scheme.
The charges against the Ajim brothers include impersonating an individual named Chris M. Akaa, a resident of Atlanta, Georgia, through a fake Facebook account. This impersonation allegedly led to the defrauding of Chumba, who transferred the sum of $43,850 in response to false love messages. The second count alleges that Christian Ajim took possession of N18,675,133.75 through an Opay Digital Service Ltd account, knowing it was proceeds from the unlawful act.
