EFCC Drags Alleged Fake Car Dealer to Court Over N15.4m Fraud

​The Enugu Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has formally arraigned Chukwuebuka Anacletus Ogbonna before the Enugu State High Court, presided over by Justice Vincent C. Ezeugwu.

​Ogbonna, who operated under the business name “Monpere’s Autos,” faces a four-count charge related to stealing by conversion, involving a total sum of N15,400,000.00.

​The legal proceedings stem from a petition filed by a client who alleged that in October 2023, he entrusted the defendant with N15.4 million to facilitate the importation of three vehicles. According to the petition, Ogbonna pledged to deliver the vehicles by December 25, 2023. However, the deadline passed without the delivery of the vehicles, and the defendant reportedly failed to refund the petitioner’s money.

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​Court documents detail that the defendant allegedly converted portions of the funds to his personal use on two separate occasions—once in September 2023 and again between late November and early December 2023. These actions are classified as a felony under Section 342 of the Criminal Code Law, Cap 30, Enugu State, and are punishable under Section 353 (1) of the same legislation.

​Upon the reading of the charges, Ogbonna entered a plea of “not guilty.” Following his plea, EFCC counsel, Assistant Commander of the EFCC (ACE II) Rotimi Ajobiewe, requested a trial date and moved for the defendant to be remanded at the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) facility in Enugu.

​Justice Ezeugwu ordered that the defendant be held at the Commission’s facility pending further proceedings. The court has adjourned the matter to July 16, 2026, for the hearing of the defendant’s bail application.

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