By Aduragbemi Omiyale
A Ponzi scheme operator based in Kano State, Mrs Maryam Abu Shinga, who lured her victims with a return on investment of 300 per cent in four weeks, has opted for a plea bargain.
According to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), which arraigned her, she was able to entice investors when she told them she was investing their funds in gold mining business.
But unknown to the unsuspecting investors, Mrs Shinga was not into the gold mining business she claimed. She was able to pay some early investors with funds taken from new victims.
The anti-graft agency informed Justice Lewis Allagoa of the Federal High Court, Kano that Mrs Shinga told her victims that when they invest N500,000 in her business, she would give them N1.5 million in four weeks.
This claim was enticing to some investors, who parted away with their funds with the hopes of getting 300 per cent of the money within a month.
The EFCC, during the trial, told the court the Ponzi scheme operator allegedly diverted about N394.5 million she collected from different investors.
When she was arraigned on a one-count amended charge of retention of proceeds of crime, she pleaded ‘not guilty’, thereby setting the stage for trial.
During the trial which commenced on January 23, 2020, the prosecution called five witnesses and tendered several documents in evidence. However, before the prosecution could close its case, she opted for a plea bargain.
On Tuesday, March 2, 2021, while delivering his judgment, Justice Allagoa accepted the terms of a plea bargain agreement, convicted and sentenced the defendant to restitute the complainants in the sum of N110 million.
Adedapo Adesanya 
Dipo Olowookere