The accused person was arraigned on nine counts bordering on obtaining money under false pretence and money laundering.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) last Friday continued with the trial of one Wilson Daphey, aka Jeffrey Guiseppe before Justice Mobolaji Olajuwon of the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja.
The accused person was arraigned on nine counts bordering on obtaining money under false pretence and money laundering.
Daphey allegedly manipulated and obtained the sum of £130,000 (One Hundred and Thirty Thousand Euros) from one Ms Petra Goschenhofer, a German, with the assistance of his accomplices: Evans Nnamdi Aguh, Christopher Chinedu Ajufo, Ifeanyi Enuma and Ojinanaka Kingsley Chukwuma who are at large.
At the resumption of the trial on Friday, Ms Petra Goschenhofer, a German, narrated before the court, how she was “dealing with an alleged white man who later turned out to be a black man from Nigeria”.
She said the love story started in 2008 when a man contacted her on Instagram, identified as Jeffrey Guiseppe, who claimed to be a bitcoin trader and offered to be her business partner, a proposition she reportedly declined.
However, they continued having conversations regarding his career and family. Guiseppe claimed to be a building engineer based in the United States of America but with his roots in Rome, Italy.
He told her that he grew up in America where he studied and had a certificate in building engineering and “his building projects spread all over the world including Dubai”.
He further claimed to be a single dad with two kids. “Before long, our conversation gradually shifted from business to talks about families,” the victim said.
“After a while, he told me he was in love with me and I told him I was married with kids, that a relationship was not possible between us but after a while, I noticed he was very nice to me and at that time. I was in a bad situation, my marriage was in crisis and I was depressed, and my son was in a bad condition.
‘I gradually fell in love with him, and before long, he started asking me for money. He claimed his building equipment was held in Dubai and he needed money to clear it.
“He actually promised to pay me back in a matter of time and sent me pictures, fake passports and work permits which bore a photograph of an American named Jeffery Guiseppe, and with date of birth 10/11/197.
“We later entered into a written agreement that he sent. I made payments through Western Union which he promised he would refund in a couple of days.”
Continuing, she said, “After some time, I asked for my money but said he had not been able to clear the equipment because his bank account was frozen and pleaded with me to help him pay the next fee and I paid, with all payments made totalling £13,000.
“In another instance, he told me that he was ill and in a coma in the hospital. I was at this time speaking with one Mr Bah who called me on WhatsApp.
“He told me Guiseppe may die, that he needed to undergo surgery and I financed it. After a while, I decided to investigate his identity because I didn’t believe him anymore, especially as he had refused to pay me the money I loaned him.
“I eventually told my husband who handed the matter to the police for investigations and the police found out that the phone number he gave me was on a server in Singapore and the address and passport were all fake.
“The police further said it would be very difficult to investigate the case as the German law restricts investigations outside Europe.”
She further narrated that in order to seek help, she joined some women on Instagram who had similar stories and they decided to find ways to help one another.
During the Covid-19 era, Goschenhofer said she had an opportunity to video call Guiseppe and realized he was not an American and “at this point, he apologized and claimed he is from Kenya”.
She said she further called and sent videos of their conversations and other documents to an officer in the German embassy in Kenya to find out who Guiseppe was and was told that his dialect showed that he is a Nigerian.
She conducted further checks and found out his real identity on Facebook and Instagram. She also found out in one of their video chats that Guiseppe was driving a car with a Nigerian number plate.
“So, I decided to print and send all the evidence of pictures and documents to the EFCC for further investigation and prosecution,” she said.
All evidence of pictures, passports, work permits and receipts were tendered and admitted in evidence.
Justice Olajuwon adjourned the matter to Tuesday, October 10, 2023 for cross-examination.