419 Man Meets Waterloo

Realtor swindler meets his Waterloo
By Yemi Akinsuyi, 06.13.2008
Saturday, June 14, 2008

Yinka Sokoya is the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Sokoya and Partners, situated at Suit 11 on the 2nd floor of the Tafawa Balewa Square Complex, Onikan, Lagos. The 42 years old man was arrested in April this year and detained at the SFU cell for defrauding a company to the tune of N6,663,000 million naira.

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According to police reports, Yinka, promised to lease out about 370 square metres of space on the first floor of a property situated at No, 77, Ojuelegba Road, Ojuelegba, Surulere, Lagos. The prospective tenant (name withheld) paid a whopping sum of N5 million to Yinka’s company as initial installment for the property.

After the payment, the company’s (tenant) officials went to the place to take charge of the property, but got a shocker. The owner of the property told them that there was no vacancy in the place and that he had never met anyone called Yinka Sokoya. After several efforts to take possession of the property proved abortive, and their money not refunded, Yinka was arrested by the police from the SFU. Suffice it to say that it took policemen from the financial unit of the force considerable time and effort before they caught up with the man who had by this time become elusive.

While Yinka was still telling the police of his involvement in the scam, one Mrs Opeyemi Adegbomire petitioned the police at the SFU that one Yinka Sokoya had fraudulently collected the sum of N15,250,000.00 million from her company, Maevis Nigeria Limited, for a serviced 5-Bedroom detachable house at Cappa Estate, Maryland, Lagos as rent. Prior to the time of moving into the property, some officials of Maevis Nigeria Limited had sent some cleaners to the premise to clean it up, since Yinka had told them that the place had not been occupied for over a year.

However, when the cleaners got there, they met other cleaners contracted by Virgin Atlantic. The Virgin Atlantic cleaners claimed to have been sent by the company to clean up the place for them since they would be moving in the next day. Meanwhile, some parts of the building had already been occupied by some of the staff of the company.

The following day, the staff of Meavis Nigeria Limited, led by Adegbomire, went to the venue of their purported office, but met staff of Virgin Atlantic in full possession of the office space. Not only that, the front office was adorned with the name and logo of Virgin Atlantic.

All efforts to track down Yinka to explain the development proved abortive, as he was nowhere to be found. Adegbomire’s company petitioned the police at SFU and they were told that Yinka was in their custody. When confronted, Yinka pleaded with Maevis’ representatives and promised to refund their money. He eventually issued a Union Bank Plc cheque to the tune of N15,250,000.00 million. But on getting to the bank, Adegbomire and other staff of Meavis Nigeria Limited found out it was a dud cheque, as the bank dishonoured it. To say that the police were furious at this new development, is to state the obvious.

While the police was still investigating the scam and with Yinka still denying his complicity in the sordid affair and insisting that he did not issue a bounced cheque, another organization - this time, a church, the New Covenant Church, Mainland Branch wrote - a petition to SFU against Yinka Sokoya, claiming that he collected some money running into millions of naira from them for a parcel of land on the mainland. When this petition got to the police unit, Yinka was informed about the new development. He did not deny it, but promised to pay back the money once he is released from the police cell.

Speaking on the series of reported allegations of fraud against him, Yinka, who pleaded for privacy, requesting that his activities should not be exposed because of his numerous customers, said he was just owing people and not defrauding them. He claimed to have started paying some of them. Giving his side of the story, Yinka said: “The truth is that my friend gave me some money to pay for a property. Immediately he gave me the money, he travelled abroad. I needed some money and I diverted it to take care of my personal commitments. I did not know that he would return so soon. When he returned and the initial place I got for him had been taken over by another company, he demanded for his money, which I have started paying.

“I don’t know why the police are embarrassing me now. I am a businessman and it is not new for a businessman to owe in the course of doing business transactions. I will pay in full, I only need to be given more time,” Yinka pleaded.

Asked if he was owing other people as claimed by the police, the man insisted that he was only doing business with people and that there is nothing strange in what he had done. “I am sad that this is happening in an advanced country like Nigeria. What is strange about doing business with people? If it had worked out according to plan, would there have been this grouse over a little problem. In fact, I don’t see it as a problem. It’s just the police that is making a mountain out of a mole hill. I will pay back,” he insisted.

Meanwhile, Commissioner of Police in charge of SFU, Mr. Yinka Balogun has vowed to get to the root of the matter and ensure that the people and companies defrauded by Yinka get justice done at the right time.

http://odili.net/news/source/2008/jun/14/209.html

How about due diligence before you enter into any contract?