Nigeria: American jailed for counterfeiting

Posted on Thursday 20 May 2010 - 11:50
Victor Emeruwa, AfricaNews reporter in Lagos, Nigeria
A Federal High Court in Lagos, Nigeria on Wednesday sentenced an American woman, Miss Sharon Denis Thorpe to two years in prison for forging and counterfeiting foreign bank cheques.

Miss Thorpe, 27 was arrested in February through intelligence by the Economic and Financial Crime Commission, EFCC, while trying to export the foreign forged foreign cheques without lawful authorities.
Thorpe and her accomplice Kehinde Musediku pleaded guilty to all 13 count charge. They were accused of knowingly and fraudulently forging eight foreign banks cashier cheques valued at $40, 223, thereby committed an offence punishable under section 1(2) (a) of the Miscellaneous Offences Act. Thorpe reportedly wept throughout the court, according to reports by Vanguard Newspapers Nigeria.
According to the EFCC, the accused persons had on them, cheques of Banner Bank, Mountain America Federal Credit Union, Citizens Bank, Pinnacle Bank, Fifth Third Bank, AmSouth Bank, M &T Bank and Timber wood Bank.
The presiding Justice Akinjide Ajakaiye who pronounced the sentenced had a mix of emotion and justice “I felt like letting her go but it will send a wrong signal to others because the offence is indeed very serious but putting into consideration her repentance, I hereby sentence her to two-year jail term on each count with hard labour amounting to 24 years.”