Lagos Court Convicts 18-Year-Old Applewood Estate Suspect For $800 Gift Card Fraud
Lagos Court Convicts 18-Year-Old Applewood Estate Suspect For $800 Gift Card Fraud
The court ordered him to pay a N200,000 fine and remit N1 million to the Federal Government as restitution. He is to remain in a correctional centre pending payment of the fine and restitution.
The Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos, has convicted and sentenced an 18-year-old suspected internet fraudster, Hassan Usman Olamilekan, arrested during an Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) raid on Applewood Estate, Orchid Road, Lekki, over a gift card fraud scheme involving a United States citizen.
Justice Dipeolu convicted Olamilekan on Friday, October 30, 2026, after he pleaded guilty to a one-count charge of money laundering brought against him by the EFCC’s Lagos Zonal Directorate 1.
The court ordered him to pay a N200,000 fine and remit N1 million to the Federal Government as restitution. He is to remain in a correctional centre pending payment of the fine and restitution.
The judge also ordered the forfeiture of an iPhone 11 Pro and a Poco C71 mobile phone recovered in connection with the offence.
According to the EFCC, Olamilekan was charged with disguising the origin of $800 in gift cards obtained through fraudulent activities, contrary to Section 18(2)(a) and punishable under Section 18(3) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
The charge read: “That you, Hassan Usman Olamilekan, sometime in 2026 in Lagos within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court indirectly disguised the origin of the sum of $800 (Eight Hundred United States Dollars) in gift cards, which sum forms part of the proceeds of your unlawful activity, and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 18(2)(a) and punishable under Section 18(3) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.”
Following his guilty plea, an EFCC operative, Ebuka Abanga, reviewed the facts of the case before the court found him guilty and convicted him.
The anti-graft agency said investigations revealed that Olamilekan, who claimed to be from the Republic of Benin but was born in Nigeria, operated several social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Zangi and iMessage, which he allegedly used for fraudulent activities.
According to the EFCC, the teenager met his victim, an American citizen identified as Gary Brewer, through the Zangi application, where he allegedly impersonated a white American woman named Julie Leach.
He reportedly told Brewer that he had won a lottery prize of $250 million but needed money to activate the winnings before he could claim the prize.
The EFCC said Olamilekan subsequently persuaded the American to send him gift cards through the messaging application.
The agency disclosed that the defendant admitted selling the gift cards through the Cardsonic application, converting the proceeds into naira and transferring the money to his grandmother’s OPay account.
“He confessed to benefiting from a total of $800 from the fraudulent scheme,” the EFCC said.
Olamilekan was among 21 suspected internet fraudsters arrested by EFCC operatives during a sting operation at Applewood Estate, Orchid Road, Lekki, Lagos State, on October 26, 2026.
