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White man, others use Dangote’s name to swindle businessman of N14m

 

Fraudsters operating at the Ajah area of Lagos, were allegedly able to suck a businessman, Chief Amehinola Loto into their scam by using the name of the President of Dangote Group of Companies, Alhaji Aliko Dangote.
Loto, has gone to the Commissioner of Police in-charge of the Force Criminal Investigations Department, Alagbon, Lagos State, Ibrahim Sabo, after he was swindled of over N14 million by suspected fraudsters.
According to Loto, the men who defrauded him were six, including a white man and a lawyer.
Loto’s expectation that he would get justice when he gets to the police crumbled when the alleged ringleader of the syndicate, John Dion, a lawyer, sauntered out of Alagbon, a few hours after his arrest.
Loto disclosed that Dion, before his arrest, had warned him not to bother going to the police as the matter would not see the light of day.
Loto said he was not sure why the CP released Dion just hours after his arrest, rather than using him to apprehend other members of the syndicate.
The complaint revealed that aside from obtaining over N14 million from him under false pretences, the syndicate was presently threatening his life.
Trouble for Loto started on February 18, 2018 after he received a text message from Ubong.
The sender, posing as Engineer Mark Kingsley Ubong Akpan, asked him if he had received any message from Dangote Group of Companies Head of Legal Department.
He explained that Dangote’s company, operating in Ajah, was interested in buying Loto’s shopping complex, located at Shogotedo area of Ajah.
Incidentally, Loto had plans to sell the complex because “the tenants there had been giving me trouble. I had to take them to court. It was through a court order they were ejected.”
However, not all the tenants were satisfied with their ejection.
A particular tenant, identified as Mark, miffed at the manner Loto ejected them.
He then allegedly conspired with the white man and others to defraud his landlord.
Loto was invited for a business discussion.
The syndicate told him that Dangote wanted to lease his complex for 10 years at the rate of N30 million per annual. Loto, who knew that Dangote has a company in that axis, fell for the scam.
He was further impressed by the appearance of a white man as a member of the team.
The businessman was told that he would have to pay “equity” to facilitate the contract.
He said he didn’t have such an amount of money.
The men then promised to take him to a merchant bank for a loan.
He, however, has to pay 10 per cent of N1 billion in order to get a loan from the bank.
Loto recalled: “The truth is that immediately I went to that office with them, I wasn’t myself anymore.
“It took prayers for me to come back to my senses.
“I sold my car and borrowed money from many people to raise over N14 million.
“They gave me different accounts to wire in the money.”
He said when it was time to give him the loan, the men told him that they would print the money for him.
Loto recalled: “After I paid them the equity contributions, Barrister took me to their office at Akodo and showed me many equipment.
“He said they were printed Independent National Electoral Commission materials and that they were using it to print money.
“He said that was where they would print money for me.
“It was then I realised I had been defrauded. I called them fraudsters to their faces.
“That was when they started threatening to kill me. They forced me into a toilet where the white man brought out a pistol and ordered that whatever they asked me, I should be saying yes.
“The Barrister started asking me questions and filming my responses.
“He later told me that he did it so that he would use it against me if the matter became a legal one.”
Later, the syndicate told him that they would release the video of his coming to ask them to turn papers into money on the internet if he tries anything stupid.

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