By Sunmola Olowookere

For floating a ‘Wonder Cooperative,’ a fraudster, Mike Atelemo (a.k.a General) who duped several people of their money by posing as an agent of the federal government in Ode Irele, Irele local government area of Ondo State has been sentenced to 17 years imprisonment by an Akure High Court.
Atelemo was accused of defrauding many people of N42, 409, 000 million between June 2017 and May, 2018.
While delivering the judgement, the trial judge Justice Samuel Bola held that the convict did not deny obtaining the money from the complainants while claiming that he ran a cooperative society.
Atelemo was charged to court in February 2019 with a 14- count charge ranging from conspiracy, obtaining money under false pretense to impersonation.
The convict had obtained money from the following people N119, 000 from Adero Omosaye, N840, 000 from Adeyemi Opeyemi, N2 million from Queen Ilesanmi, N1,610, 000 from Olugboye Apata, N700, 000 from Adeyemi Sunday,N2 million from Toyin Ilesagba.
Also, he obtained under false pretence N3,850, 000 million from Daniel Ariyo Benson, N5, 390, 000 million from Ayetomo Itunu, N8, 500, 000 million from Oloyede Samuel, N1,400, 000 million and N16,000,000 million from Fadayomi Jumoke.
According to the prosecution which called 12 witnesses, Atelemo had lured his victims with the establishment of a phony project which he tagged “Federal Government Empowerment Scheme”.
He also branded a Highlander SUV with the name of the phony scheme as a means of publicity and opened an office at No 23, Olabanji Street, Iluyemi shopping complex, Ode Irele.
He was also accused of parading himself as an agent of the federal government of Nigeria.
These acts were said to have contravened section 133 of the Advance Free Fraud and other related offences.
While the charges were read to him, he entered a “not guilty” plea.
The first prosecution witness, Adero Omosaye said he met him at a barbing salon where he introduced to him the scheme but lamented that on the day which he promised to pay him with interest, he could no longer find him and his office was locked.
The second witness, Adeyemi Opeyemi said he heard the advert of the phony empowerment scheme on a popular private radio station and invested N30,000.
He further testified that after receiving double of his invested sum, he brought others to benefit from the scheme and was shocked when they could no longer find the agent after investing a huge sum.
He tendered the receipts that were given to him.
The third witness, Queen Ilesanmi who was also a victim said when she received the sum of N80,000 after investing N50, 000, she told her neighbours and they too invested along with her the sum of N2 million.
She lamented that at the expiration of the 21 days which he gave them for their investment to mature, they could no longer find him and they discovered that he had fled to Delta state.
Another witness, Toyin Ilesagba said that she was suspicious at the onset but later believed in the scheme when she got to his office and saw the picture of the President, Muhammadu Buhari and the Ondo State Governor, Rotimi Akeredolu displayed on the wall.
A witness from the DSS office told the court that their office received a petition from the complainant that a federal government scheme in which they had invested was not giving them their return.
He also tendered a video evidence showing the convict making announcements in his branded Highlander calling on people to come and invest in the scheme so that they could end their poverty.
He said that the victims were paying him manually at his office while some of them transferred the money to his personal account.
While testifying when the defence opened its case, Atelemo said that the project was not a scheme but a cooperative society and that he was sold the idea by a pastor in Warri.
He said that he had branches of the society in Lagos and Ogun states.
He said that he did not abscond to Delta state but had to flee when he was attacked by a group known as “Omo Onile”.
He further claimed that he had informed the members of his relocation after he was advised by the police to relocate.
While delivering judgement, Justice Bola observed that although he claimed that he operated a cooperative society yet he did not open any account for it and that the monies sent to him were lodged in his personal account.
He observed that the payments which the victims claimed to have paid were not denied by the convict and noted that the programme was not a cooperative but a phoney empowerment scheme made to appear credible with the tag “federal government scheme”.
He had therefore convicted the defendant as charged.
He had therefore sentenced him to 7 years imprisonment for conspiracy, 7 years for obtaining money under false pretense and 3 years for impersonation and said that the sentences were to run concurrently.
He also ordered the convict to pay the victims all the sums of money due to them as stated above.