The Court of Appeal, Lagos Division, has upheld the conviction and 12-year prison sentence of businessman Kolawole Erinle for his involvement in a $1.4 million fraud.
In a statement by the Head of Media and Publicity of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Dele Oyewale, the court’s decision affirmed the earlier judgment delivered by Justice Mojisola Oshodi of the Special Offences Court in Ikeja, Lagos, on September 26, 2023.
Erinle and his company, Rinde-Remdex Nigeria Limited, were convicted on charges of conspiracy, retention of proceeds of criminal conduct, and obtaining money under false pretence.
The EFCC had alleged that Erinle conspired with an accomplice, Edward Dada, who is still at large, to impersonate J.E. Dunn, a U.S.-based construction company, by creating a fake domain, jedunn.org, to defraud the company of $1.4 million.
According to one of the charges, “Kolawole Adedayo Erinle and Edward Dada (still at large), sometime in 2019 at Lagos, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, conspired to falsely represent yourselves as J.E. Dunn, a local construction company in America, with intent to gain monetary advantage in the sum of $1,410,000 (One Million Four-Hundred and Ten Thousand United States Dollars) by creating a fake domain name jedunn.org and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 8 of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Related Offences Act No 14, 2006.”
Initially arraigned on March 11, 2022, before Justice Oluwatoyin Taiwo, Erinle’s trial was reassigned to Justice Oshodi following Justice Taiwo’s retirement.
During the trial, the EFCC, represented by counsel T.J. Banjo, presented four witnesses and submitted documentary evidence, including proof of Erinle’s previous conviction for fraud in the United States, where he served 23 months in prison.
In his defense, Erinle denied the allegations but admitted under cross-examination to his U.S. conviction and expressed remorse, saying, “I am sorry.”
Justice Oshodi sentenced Erinle to five years on one count and 12 years on another, with the sentences to run concurrently from February 10, 2023, when his bail was revoked. His company was fined ₦50 million, ordered to be wound up, and its proceeds forfeited to the federal government.
The court further directed that all properties and vehicles recovered from Erinle be sold, with the proceeds used to restitute the victim through the FBI.
Erinle’s counsel, Lawal Pedro (SAN), appealed the conviction, but the appellate court dismissed the appeal, describing it as lacking merit.
EFCC counsel T.J. Banjo argued that the trial court’s judgment was well-grounded, and Justice Danlami Zama Senchi, delivering the lead judgment on behalf of the three-man panel, held that the prosecution effectively proved the case beyond reasonable doubt.
