The Abuja Police Command has arrested 23-year-old Imu Ovaioza Yunusa, entrepreneur and CEO of Ovaioza Group of Companies who scammed investors to the tune of hundreds millions of dollars.
Yunusa, who was arrested on Monday, April 18, and and accused of “criminal breach of trust and cheating.”
She was taken to the police headquarters and and will later be handed over to the Force Criminal Investigations Department (FCID) according to The Whistler.
Trouble started for Yunusa who ran an agricultural food storage business in Nigeria called the Ovaioza Farm Produce Storage Business, after she allegedly created a partnership plan that guaranteed investors a 70-80% return on investment.
She kept her customer up to date on their investments in her verified Facebook page, gaining attention and confidence from potential investors.
As the investment scheme blossomed the entrepreneur was accused of leading a lavish lifestyle, after the company expanded into new sectors in the last year.
In March 2022, Yunusa who was accused of mismanaging investors’ funds, after the company went bankrupt, resulting in her inability to pay investors a return on their investments.
Taking to her Facebook page on Saturday, she assured investors that their money would be returned.
She said that her company, OFPSB had been registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) but was unaware that she also required to register with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
She said, “However, I must admit my ignorance as to the extent of corporate compliance that is necessary for my buying and selling business, especially as the business grew, owing to funds sought from the public.
“I asked my lawyer to reach out to SEC to ensure the needful was done. I did this to ensure that my interest and the collective interest of my partners are protected by law.
“My lawyer duly reached out to SEC and reported back to me (I was not the one who went to SEC) that SEC said they don’t regulate buying and selling.
“I must also admit that maybe we should have made a written application requesting for SEC to register my business, but unfortunately we did not do so.
“This huge mistake on our part is particularly why are here battling to wriggle out of the SEC conundrum and not necessarily whether a petition was written against OFPSB or not.
“I say so because, without registration with SEC, it was only a matter of time before they come for us if we had carried on the business without registration.”
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