Man Accused of $41,000 Love Scam Says EFCC Can't Touch Him

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) began its case against Edidiong James from Akwa Ibom on Thursday. He is accused of cheating a foreigner out of $41,000 through a romance scam. A witness for the prosecution told the court that James once bragged that the EFCC could not arrest him.

Unyime Moses, a deputy superintendent at the EFCC, testified before Justice Maurine Oyetenu at the Federal High Court in Uyo. She said investigators found messages on James' phone that linked him to the alleged fraud.

Moses, who is the first witness for the prosecution, explained that records from the phone showed long chats between James and a woman named Elizabeth. He allegedly called her "My Everything."

The witness said these messages included details of money transfers between them. She stated that James kept asking for more money, even when Elizabeth wanted her previous payments refunded.

One message from James said, "Send me $900 if you want your money back, because if you don’t send me the $900, I won’t give you your money back."

When Elizabeth threatened to report him to the EFCC, James dismissed her concerns. "Did you really think the EFCC could arrest me?" the witness quoted him.

Moses said investigators found that James used fake names while talking to victims. When he was arrested, he claimed his name was "Jessy James," but a check on his Bank Verification Number showed it was not real.

She also talked about how investigators reached out to Elizabeth during the case. According to her, Elizabeth was very upset and frustrated with James.

The witness said Elizabeth would not talk further and insisted that any communication should go through her country's embassy.

The prosecution presented several items found during the investigation. These included an iPhone 15 Pro Max, a Redmi 13 phone, and a Lexus ES350 car. The court accepted these items as evidence.

The EFCC said James was arrested on 8 October 2025 at his home on Ring Road 3, off Camp Gee, Uyo. This was part of what the EFCC called an intelligence-led operation.

A forensic examination of the devices taken from him showed that he had allegedly defrauded Elizabeth over three years, taking $41,000 from her while still asking for more money.

During questioning, James claimed he ran a BetNaija outlet set up in 2021. He said he made money by helping clients boost their social media accounts.

He claimed he charged between N30,000 and N40,000 per account and had worked on about 20 accounts. But the EFCC said they found no proof to back this up, like client records or account details.

The EFCC also said its investigation revealed that James focused on romance scams and identity theft. He used fake Facebook and WhatsApp profiles to talk to foreign victims, including Elizabeth, from Hungary.

James claimed he only took $4,000 from Elizabeth. But the EFCC said messages from his devices showed he took much more.

James was first taken to court on 30 January 2026. He pleaded not guilty to three charges. One charge claims he fraudulently got $41,000 from Elizabeth and other victims by pretending to invest the money in Bitcoin and foreign exchange trading. This goes against the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006.

After cross-examining the witness, Justice Oyetenu postponed the case to 22 and 23 September for the trial to continue.