Student Sentenced to 14 Years for Defrauding Investors in Ponzi Scheme

A 27-year-old student, David Ugboko, has been sentenced to 14 years in prison for defrauding investors through a Ponzi scheme. The sentencing took place at the Ikeja Special Offences Court in Lagos on Wednesday.

Ugboko, who studied at the Federal University of Agriculture in Abeokuta, was found guilty on multiple counts including conspiracy and obtaining money under false pretenses. The court heard that he defrauded more than 500 investors out of over N1 billion, using money from new investors to pay earlier ones.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) reported that Ugboko misused the funds instead of investing them as promised. He reportedly purchased a luxury car and started building a house in Ibadan with the money he took from investors.

During the trial, it was revealed that Ugboko assured investors on social media that they would get their money back when the investments improved. However, he had already used the money for personal expenses.

The court also heard that Ugboko had defrauded individuals out of millions, including N18 million from one victim in 2021. The judge noted that Ugboko showed no remorse for his actions and had not returned any money to the victims.

Ugboko was sentenced to 14 years, but the judge indicated that this could be reduced to seven years if he repaid the N27.5 million to the victims within 90 days.