An 18-year-old man, Hassan Usman Olamilekan, has been convicted by a Federal High Court in Lagos for laundering $800 obtained from a gift card scam involving a United States citizen.
Justice Dipeolu, sitting at the court in Ikoyi, delivered the judgment on October 30, 2026, after Olamilekan pleaded guilty to a one-count money laundering charge filed against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
According to a statement by the EFCC, the charge accused the teenager of disguising the origin of $800 in gift cards, which the agency identified as proceeds of unlawful activities.
Following his guilty plea, an EFCC operative, Ebuka Abanga, presented the facts of the case before the court. Justice Dipeolu subsequently found Olamilekan guilty.
The court fined him N200,000 and ordered him to pay N1 million as restitution to the Federal Government. He is to remain in the correctional centre until he fulfils the financial obligations imposed by the court.
The judge also ordered the forfeiture of an iPhone 11 Pro and a Poco C71 mobile phone recovered in connection with the case.
The EFCC said its investigation revealed that Olamilekan met his victim, identified as Gary Brewer, an American citizen, through the Zangi messaging application.
The teenager reportedly posed as a white American woman named Julie Leach and told Brewer that he had won a $250 million lottery prize but needed money to activate the winnings before he could claim the fortune.
He allegedly persuaded the American to send gift cards, which he later sold through the Cardsonic application. The proceeds were converted to naira and transferred into his grandmother’s OPay account.
According to the commission, Olamilekan admitted receiving a total of $800 from the scheme.
The EFCC further disclosed that the suspect operated several social media and messaging platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Zangi and iMessage, and was also involved in lottery-related scams.
The agency said Olamilekan was among 21 suspected internet fraudsters arrested by its operatives during a sting operation at Applewood Estate, Orchid Road, Lekki, Lagos, on October 26, 2026.
His arrest came four days before the court convicted and sentenced him.
The case adds to the EFCC’s ongoing efforts to tackle internet fraud and financial crimes, particularly schemes in which fraudsters use fake identities and fabricated lottery winnings to deceive unsuspecting victims.