EFCC witness testifies against alleged fake US Engineer in $968,000 fraud case
The trial of Wawe Eseoghene Nelson, also known as James Andrew Shmit and Philip Bradley, commenced on Thursday, March 14, 2025, before Justice Aliyu Halilu of the Federal Capital Territory High Court, Abuja.
This was contained in a statement signed by Dele Oyewale, Head, Media & Publicity.
Nelson is facing prosecution by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on 11 count-charges bordering on advance fee fraud, impersonation, conspiracy, and obtaining under false pretence to the tune of $968,000.
The alleged fraud was committed against two US victims, Kathleen Sharp and Holly Stamm.
According to the EFCC, Nelson posed as a US engineer to defraud his victims. The commission presented its first prosecution witness, Kathleen Sharp, who testified against Nelson. Sharp narrated how she was lured into sending money to Nelson, who promised to repay her when a project yielded dividends.
“I was contacted by the Commission that they discovered that I was defrauded by one James Andrew Shmit via social media platform. We communicated over social media where he presented himself as an engineer working at BP Oil in the Gulf of Mexico. He started by asking for funds because he did not have access to his personal funds and the credit situation in connection with the project required a large amount of funds with the promise that it will be returned and he will avail the funds to me. The total funds are $183,000 (One Hundred and Eighty-three Thousand Dollars) through three instalments, one by wired certificate cheque, two instalments by wired transfer. The first one was for $45,500, (Forty-five Thousand Dollars), the second one was $131,000 (One Hundred and Thirty-one Dollars) and the third was $7000 (Seven Thousand Dollars) I wired. I have not been paid my money. After the third instalment, he pushed me to pay another $10,000 (Ten Thousand Dollars), but I did not pay. There was a picture on his profile, he has brown hair and white. I will like the refund of the investment and funds and he should be persecuted for his actions,” Sharp testified.
Nelson pleaded not guilty to all the charges when they were read to him, prompting his trial. Justice Halilu adjourned the case to April 16, 2025, for cross-examination of the witness.
