EFCC has arraigned the registered
trustee of Micheno Multi-purpose Cooperative Society, Mr. Uno Michael Eke
before Justice Simon Amobeda of the Federal High Court, sitting in Calabar,
Cross River State, on a separate 74-count charge, for allegedly obtaining over
N320 million (Three Hundred and Twenty Million) by false pretence from innocent
Nigerians.
Eke, allegedly defrauded his
victims through an alleged ponzi scheme by inducing his victims to invest in
his Swissgolden packages, through his company, Micheno Multi-purpose
Cooperative Society, under the false pretence of paying them 80 per cent return
on investment within just 40 days.
With this enticing bait, Eke
duped so many people through the scheme, and when his investors started calling
for their capitals and expected interest, he made himself unreachable, both by
telephone and in person.
One of the charges against him
reads: "That you, Uno Michael Eke (being the president/chief executive
officer of Micheno Multi-purpose Cooperative Society) and registered trustees
of Micheno Multi-purpose Cooperative Society (MMCS) on or about the 12th day of
July, 2018 in Calabar within the jurisdiction of this honourable court, with
intent to defraud, did obtain the sum of Forty-seven Million Naira
(N47,000,000.00) from one Briggs Nimi Osim by inducing her to invest same into
your Swissgolden packages through your Micheno Multi-purpose Cooperative
Society Ltd, under the false pretence of paying her 80% as return on investment
on her principal sum on the fortieth day of her investment, which pretence you
knew to be false and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 1 (1) (a)
of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006 and
punishable under Section 1 (3) of the same Act".
He pleaded not guilty on all
charges. In view of his not guilty plea, the prosecution counsel, T. N. Ndifon,
prayed the court for a trial date and for the accused person to be remanded in
prison custody. The defendant was remanded in prison custody, while the matter
was adjourned to June 13, 2019, for the hearing of the bail application.
It could be recalled that Eke had
previously been arraigned by the Commission on two separate charges of alleged
fraud of N200 million and N301.2 million respectively. He is currently in
prison custody, even as more victims of his ponzi scheme continue to throng the
Uyo Zonal Office of the Commission with petitions that allege how Eke collected
money from one person to pay the other only to renege when he could no longer
sustain his tricks.
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