Justice Ayokunle Faji of the Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos, on Tuesday, July 1, 2025, convicted and sentenced Mubarak Suleiman Olasukanmi to three years imprisonment for cybercrime.
Olasukanmi was arraigned on a two-count charge bordering on impersonation and cybercrime by the Lagos Zonal Directorate 2 of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
His case followed a petition received by the Commission from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in 2023, alleging his involvement in Business Email Compromise (BEC) and an online romance scam.
According to the FBI, an attempted BEC was uncovered in February 2021 involving the City of Aliso Viejo, California. An employee of the city received fraudulent emails claiming to be from Tovey/Shultz Construction Inc., requesting that their payment details be changed to an account belonging to Anoka Wellness at Bank of California.
Based on the fraudulent request, the City of Aliso Viejo wired $521,518.47 to the Anoka Wellness account, money which was later recovered through the prompt intervention of the Orange County Sheriff’s Office (OCSD).
Investigations revealed that several email addresses were used to register a fake domain impersonating Tovey/Shultz Construction and associated entities. About 26 additional email addresses were used to create various Apple accounts linked by shared names, addresses, and a phone number traced to Olasukanmi.
One of the charges read: “That you, Mubarak Sulaiman Olasukanmi, male, adult, sometime in February 2021 in Lagos State, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, fraudulently impersonated one Jackie Love by holding yourself out as such on your Facebook application with intent to gain advantage for yourself, and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 22(2)(b) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Act, 2015.”
The court found him guilty and sentenced him to three years in prison.
