A United States court has dismissed the case against Olalekan Ponle, also known as Mr. Woodberry, a Nigerian accused of multi-million dollar wire fraud.
Mr. Ponle, popularly known as Woodberry, was arrested, alongside Ramon Abbas (Hushpuppi) in the United Arab Emirates on June 10 for multiple fraud charges after a raid by operatives of the Dubai crime unit.
The duo were extradited to the U.S. on July 2.
According to the complaint against Mr. Ponle, an unnamed Chicago company was tricked into sending wire transfers totaling $15.2 million. Companies based in Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, New York, and California also were victims of the fraud, prosecutors say.
The 29-year-old was facing charges bordering on wire fraud conspiracy at a United States District Court in Illinois.
The jury summed up the allegations against him to an eight-count charge of wire fraud, which violates section 1343 of the United States Codes.
However, The United States government on Monday filed a motion through its attorney, John R. Lausch, requesting that the case against Mr. Ponle should be dismissed without prejudice.
A court order issued by Judge Robert W. Gettleman on Tuesday said the government’s motion to dismiss the complaint without prejudice was granted.
However, when it is dismissed without prejudice, like in the case of Mr. Ponle, the dismissal is temporary as the prosecutor can refile the case within a certain period of time.
The probable causes of dismissal range from unavailability of sufficient evidence, an improper criminal complaint or charging document, to loss of evidence necessary to prove the defendant committed the crime.
Source: GhanaCelebrities.Com