By Olasunkanmi Ayinde
EFCC recently published the list of Ponzi schemes that have been used to steal money from Nigerians and rendered many bankrupt.
You may have wondered: who are the individuals behind these deceptive companies defrauding unsuspecting Nigerians?
InvestigateNigeria profiles some of the key actors behind these schemes.
Ajisope Joshua Iwalewa, CEO FarmFunded Agroservices Limited
One of such individuals is Ajisope Joshua Iwalewa, the Chief Executive Officer of FarmFunded Agroservices Limited. A 2017 Accounting graduate from Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Ajisope also attended an Agribusiness Management program at the Lagos Business School, Pan-Atlantic University. His Ponzi business ripped off many Nigerians in several millions of naira before he was exposed.
His professional background includes serving as Lead Consultant at ProTriple 9 Business Consults in Ile-Ife between 2017 and 2018. Prior to that, Iwalewa who described himself as Agribusiness Advocate(AGVOCATE) lectured at Treasure Professional Institute in Ile-Ife and worked as an Accounting Intern at PricewaterhouseCoopers Nigeria from January 2014 to May 2015.
InvestigateNigeria reached out to PricewaterhouseCoopers Nigeria to verify Ajisope Joshua Iwalewa’s claim of having interned with the firm. As of the time of publication, the organization has yet to respond to the inquiry.
Imu Ovaioza Yunusa, CEO Ovaioza Farm Produce Storage Business (OFPSB)
Imu Ovaioza Yunusa, the founder and CEO of Ovaioza Farm Produce Storage Business (OFPSB) attended College of Arabic and Islamic studies, Okene, Kogi state. Her company engages in processing, storage, distribution and retailing of farm produce such as garri and plantain. Ovaioza also co-owns Ovaioza Skills Acquisition Center (OSAC) and Relax and Chill. Ovaioza is accused of scamming people with amount running into hundreds of millions of Naira. Ovaioza offered investors a huge return on investment that she never redeemed. She was allegedly planning to leave the country with her husband, David, when the police apprehended her in Abuja. A native of Akoko Edo in Edo state, born in Kogi, she is 31 years.
Bill Kenneth Innocent Akpa, CEO Globetrot Farmsponsor Nigeria Limited
Bill Kenneth Innocent Akpa and Chike Emmanuel Akpa are the CEO and Executive Director of Globetrot Farmsponsor Nigeria Limited respectively. Kenneth holds a bachelor’s degree in Ahmadu Bello University where he studied Political Science and graduated in 2014, Emmanuel studied Electrical Engineering in ABU. He is also the regulatory officer at the Nigerian Nuclear Regulatory Authority since 2015. They established FarmSponsor in 2018 with RC number 1506035.
Maxwell Odum, CEO MBA Trading and Capital Investment Ltd
Maxwell Odum, the CEO of MBA Trading and Capital Investment Ltd., a forex company, wanted for defrauding people with amount running to billions of naira. Other directors in the company are Agida Peters Ede, Lucky Ogwuche, Christopher Daniel Umoh, Beatrice Owuso.
Odum, a member of Christ Embassy Church in Port Harcourt has been charged with conspiracy, obtaining money by false pretense and money laundering by EFCC. A native of Elekahia town in Port Harcourt, his last known address was 7 Odum Street, Elekahia Port Harcourt, Rivers state.
