Emeka Thomas (not real name), a national diploma II student at the Polytechnic Ibadan, has recounted how he got defrauded of N590,000 by Sydney Somtochukwu, a forex trader working for Brisk Capital Limited.

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Thomas told FIJ that he started trading with the company when he met Somtochukwu in 2020.

“I started the investment with N20,000 in 2020. When Somtochukwu informed me about the progress my capital was making, I sent him an additional N100,000, and my capital with him became N120,000,” Thomas said.

“After a month, he made a N150,000 repayment to me, saying that he had a bigger plan for me if I was interested.”

In 2021, however, things took a different turn after Thomas invested N590,000 and got nothing in return.

“I was too absorbed in his promises that I ended up funding the trading account I had with Somtochukwu with N290,000. I was promised N520,000 in return at the end of three months,” Thomas said.

“I don’t even know if I should call it greed; I was just concerned about making more money.

“In March, I spoke with Somtochukwu that I needed to support my mum’s business with N900,000 and he said I should add N300,000 to my initial capital so that I can get a sum of N1.5 million in return.

“After I paid him the additional N300,000, Somtochukwu failed to give me the N1.5 million he promised. He said he didn’t collect the money from only me, and that he also collected money from his classmates.

“I waited calmly till August but nothing came from him. At some point, he told me the guy who was trading on his behalf had run away. I later got to know he was lying and hiding from two of his classmates he had also defrauded.”

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When FIJ spoke with Somtochukwu on the phone, he admitted to not being straightforward with Thomas on the investment agreement they had.

“In truth, I used up 60 per cent of every capital Thomas sent to me on personal needs and traded the remaining 40 per cent,” Somtochukwu said.

“I actually was still learning the trade when I encountered him. So, you could say I was an amateur when he started sending money to me to help him trade in forex.”

When Somtochukwu was asked when he hoped to pay Thomas his money back, he said his bank account had been blocked on the request of Thomas’ lawyer.