A Federal Bureau of Investigation’s agent, Mr Ayotunde Solademi, on Tuesday told an Ikeja Special Offences Court how one Kolawole Erinle involved in a cybercrime allegedly defrauded Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences in the United States of $1.4m.
The witness, a Foreign Service national investigator for the FBI, Office of the Legal Attaché in the US Consulate in Nigeria, said the university became a victim of spoofing, a form of cybercrime attack that targets businesses using forged sender addresses.
Erinle is standing trial alongside his firm, Rinde-Remdex Nigeria Limited, on a three-count charge bordering on conspiracy, retention of proceeds of criminal conduct, and obtaining money under false pretence preferred against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
The defendant however pleaded not guilty to the charge.
Solademi, the first prosecution witness, led in examination in chief by the EFCC counsel, Temitope Banjo, told the court that KCUMB underwent a major construction project with a construction company called J.E.Dunn in Kansas City sometime in 2019 and the university made a wired transfer of approximately $1.41m to an account that it believed belonged to J. E. Dunn.
He said, “On March 27, 2019, J.E. Dunn contacted KCUMB asking about the payment for the pending invoices and KCUMB replied that the payment has been made.
“On March 28, 2019, Dunn confirmed that they did not receive payment.