LAGOS — A Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos, has ordered the permanent forfeiture of ₦17,100,595.40 to the Federal Government of Nigeria. The funds, traced to a local bank account, are central to a harrowing cross-border romance scam investigation that allegedly drove an American citizen to take her own life.
Presiding Judge, Justice A.O. Owoeye, issued the final forfeiture order on Monday, June 1, 2026, following an uncontested application by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Lagos Zonal Directorate.
The illicit funds, domiciled in an Access Bank PLC account, belong to one Ifeanyi Alele David, a suspect targeted in a joint operative breakthrough between Nigeria’s anti-graft agency and the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
A Fatal Deception Unraveled by the FBI
The roots of the judicial seizure trace back to a grim discovery across the Atlantic. According to an investigative affidavit deposed by EFCC operative Samson Aguma, the FBI contacted Nigerian authorities following the tragic suicide of an American woman in a Denver, Colorado hotel room on September 15, 2021.
A forensic digital extraction of the deceased woman’s mobile device revealed a trail of manipulative correspondence via the Google Hangouts application. The perpetrator operated under the digital alias “Garry Micheal,” systematically exploiting the victim’s emotional vulnerability.
The scammer deployed classic emotional extortion tactics, repeatedly soliciting massive financial bailouts under fraudulent pretexts—including fabricated emergencies where he claimed he needed funds to secure release from a foreign prison and to book a flight back to the United States.
Driven to the Brink
The court documents paint a devastating picture of the victim’s final hours. Between August 30 and September 13, 2021—a span of just two weeks—the victim was manipulated into sending approximately $154,500 through various illicit financial channels controlled by the syndicate.
On the very day she took her own life, the fraudster ruthlessly demanded an additional $60,000. This final demand was pushed despite the victim explicitly telling the suspect that she was under severe financial distress and had completely exhausted her life savings.
Following her death, FBI cyber-crime experts tracked the digital footprint of the “Garry Micheal” persona. Forensic analysis of email accounts, Internet Protocol (IP) addresses, telecommunication logs, and a compromised Apple iCloud account pointed directly to Ifeanyi Alele David operating from Nigeria. Local bank records subsequently showed that the ₦17.1 million sitting in David’s account was directly tied to the timeline and proceeds of the extortion scheme.
Uncontested Seizure
Moving the application for the final forfeiture on Monday, EFCC counsel C.C. Okezie reminded the court that an interim forfeiture order had been granted on February 26, 2026.
In line with statutory requirements, the court had directed the commission to publish the interim notice in a national daily to allow David, his proxies, or any interested third party to show cause why the money should not be permanently lost to the state.
Okezie submitted that the notice was published in The Punch newspaper on April 10, 2026, and that the legal window for an appeal had closed without any individual or entity stepping forward to claim the funds or challenge the EFCC’s findings.
Satisfied that the anti-graft agency had established a bulletproof link between the bank balance and the criminal enterprise, Justice Owoeye ruled that the EFCC’s application possessed overriding merit and ordered the immediate transfer of the ₦17.1 million to the federal treasury.
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