Court Sentences Man to 63 Years in Prison for ₦1Bn Investment Fraud

Justice Olusola Adetujoye of the Oyo State High Court in Ibadan has sentenced Olaniyan Gbenga Amos, founder of Detorrid Heritage Investment Limited, to 63 years in prison for multiple counts of investment fraud.

Amos was convicted on Monday alongside his company on a 30-count charge filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ibadan Zonal Directorate, for obtaining money under false pretences — a violation of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Related Offences Act, 2006.

According to EFCC spokesperson Dele Oyewale, the fraudulent scheme involved false promises of a 30% return on investments through a company called Crime Alert Security Network. Victims were tricked into parting with large sums of money, including ₦995,000 from one individual and ₦920,000 from another.

Amos had pleaded not guilty during his arraignment in December 2021. The EFCC called eight witnesses and submitted multiple exhibits between February 2022 and January 2023. Amos later filed a no-case submission, which the court dismissed, prompting him to testify as the sole defence witness in October 2024.

Delivering judgment on April 28, 2025, Justice Adetujoye found him guilty on nine of the 30 counts and sentenced him to seven years on each count, to run concurrently. He was acquitted on the remaining 21 counts but ordered to restitute his victims.

Amos is no stranger to the courtroom. In December 2023, he was sentenced to 75 years in prison by Justice Bayo Taiwo for a similar fraud case. He also faces two other ongoing trials at the Federal High Court in Ibadan.

Investigators said his fraudulent investment schemes duped unsuspecting individuals of over ₦1 billion, under the guise of high-return ventures.