A
graduate, Gladys Assah-Assor, is under investigation by operatives of the Lagos
State Police Command for allegedly defrauding her business partners of over
N5m.
The
suspect, who has been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation and
Intelligence Department, Yaba, was alleged to have opened a catering shop,
bought a car, and travelled to different places with the proceeds.
Punch learnt that the 35-year-old Cross
River State indigene worked as a network marketer for a company in Ikeja, Lagos
State.
She
was said to have introduced one of the company’s products to her friend,
Nkiruka Okon.
The
duo reportedly agreed to buy the product, Healthy Halogen Oven, for N12,000 per
unit, and sell at N20,000.
Okon
was alleged to have invested N4.5m into the business, with an expectation of
N7.5m, including profit.
However,
the suspect was alleged to have fled with the money and was untraceable for
over one year.
She
was apprehended by operatives of the Rapid Response Squad who got a complaint
from Okon.
During
interrogation by a decoy team of the RRS, the suspect allegedly confessed to
the crime.
She
was quoted to have said, “‘I met Okon in Port-Harcourt, Rivers State, in 2008
while she worked with a commercial bank. We were just friends then.
“But
later in 2015, I marketed Healthy Halogen Oven, a product imported into Nigeria
by a network marketing company.
“As
a network marketer, my duty is to bring potential customers and partners into
the business for a win-win profit-making both for the customer and myself.
“I
told Okon about the oven, which was one of the products of the company, sold
for N12,000 at company price.
“We
agreed to partner in buying large quantities of the product. We agreed to put
together the financial capital. I would also do the marketing and
transportation of the product to the customers.”
The
police said the victim, in her statement, said after she paid the money,
Assah-Assor absconded.
She
said “I made a deposit of N4.5m into Gladys’ (Assah-Assor) account based on the
agreement that after sales, I would collect N7.5m. But she refused to stick to
the plan.
“After
I contacted her for my share, she refused to pick my calls and absconded for
over one year. That was when I realised that I had been duped by the person I
thought was my business partner.
“All
effort to persuade her to pay my money proved abortive, as she gave me
different excuses.
“During
one of our confrontations in 2016, Gladys issued me dud cheques of N3m, N2m and
N2m, making N7m in total. But the bank told me the cheques were not payable.”
The
police said in the course of investigation, it was discovered that it was not the
first time that the suspect would be involved in fraud.
She
was alleged to have confessed to duping another woman of N1.8m in a car
purchase deal she brokered.
The
suspect allegedly confessed to have connected the lady to an auto dealer and
the victim paid N1.8m to her for transfer to the dealer.
She
allegedly made away with the money.
“She
disclosed to investigators that she used proceeds from the fraud to open a
catering shop, bought a car, travelled out on vacations and got a suitable
apartment for her family,” the RRS said.
The
police spokesperson, ASP Olarinde Famous-Cole, said the case had been
transferred to the SCIID, Yaba, for further investigation.
- Punch
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