Son-in-law of Bright Igbinedion, Osmond Eweka, who is accused of employment scam in the United States of America has received support from his wife, Imade.
Mr Eweka, 31, was charged to court on Thursday for allegedly scamming job seekers out of thousands of dollars by promising them high-paying employment in New York.
The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office said Eweka and his friend Kamel McKay, 27, pretended to run two consulting firms in Manhattan telling clients that if they paid a fee they would be placed at various jobs across New York City.
Prosecutors said they would invite their victims to their office for an interview and then have them pay a fee, ranging between $300 and $700.
After collecting the money, the men would send the job seekers to different businesses, where they were turned away by employers who weren’t expecting them.
The victims then found that they could no longer get in contact with the alleged fraudsters or the consulting firm.
According to authorities, Eweka and McKay duped 250 people and pocketed more than $54,000. Prosecutors said they never provided a single job. They ran the alleged scam from January to June 2018.
Both men were indicted on charges of larceny and scheme to defraud. McKay was arraigned last week and released on $200,000 bail, the New York Times reports.
Eweka was in court on Thursday and pleaded not guilty to the charges. He was released without bail.
As news of the arraignment circulated in Nigeria on Friday, Eweka’s lawyer wife, Imade, posted a picture of both of them at a restaurant on Instagram.
The post came with a heart emoji.
Its comment section was disabled apparently to avoid people posting negative comments.
Imade’s father is the son of Esama of Benin, Sir Gabriel Igbinedion, and brother of former Governor Lucky Igbinedion of Edo State.
The couple got married at an elaborate wedding in Benin City in December 2016 two years after Eweka proposed to Imade at The Michelangelo Towers in Johannesburg, South Africa.
