Ali Ibeabuchi Victor, a Belarus-based Nigerian, has accused Famous Omaghere, a visa agent, of defrauding two of his friends of N800,000.

Speaking with FIJ, Ali said he thought he could trust Famous because he was someone he had been transacting with since 2020.

However, when he approached the agent to assist in processing American visas for Omonigho Oghenevwoke and Otemu Sharp, his associates, the story changed.

“He processed my visa to Belarus in 2021 and it was successful. That same year, he would again reach out to me saying he had slots for anyone who was interested in going to the United States of America for a Climate programme,” Ali said.

“I told him to give me time, so I can contact people who were interested.”

IN SEARCH OF VISA SEEKING CLIENTS

Ali said that he subsequently told Elvis Osaze, his friend, who was living with him about the opportunity. Osaze would in turn post the opportunity on his Whatsapp status for other people to know about it.

“After Elvis posted it, Omonigho Oghenevwoke and Otemu Sharp, two of his friends showed interest. Later, I told Famous that these people were going to make deposits of N400,000 each. I also told him that the clients were to get refunds of N200,000 each if they were denied Visas,” Ali said.

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“Famous agreed to this condition, saying they were okay. I later made the transfer of N800,000 to him in two tranches. I first paid N400,000 on January  6 and the remaining N400,000 on January 9.”

According to the initial plan shared by Famous, Oghenevwoke and Sharp were supposed to go for their biometrics and visa interviews in Abuja on January 24. However, that never happened.

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“Before January 24, I started reminding Famous not to forget the promise he made to my friends as regards the biometrics. I even pleaded with him not to disappoint me because I didn’t want any issue to come up,” Ali continued.

“Famous assured me that nothing was going to happen. But shockingly, after some days, he reached out to say that the biometrics would be in batches.”

After a while, Oghenevwoke and Sharp started complaining of being left in the dark after Famous would not facilitate the biometrics promised. Ali also said the two demanded for the invites to the climate programme to prove that they had not been defrauded.

To dowse the tension, Famous would later send them a voice note saying he had not spent the money given to him.

FAMOUS’ OLD FRIEND REVEALS THE TRUTH

“Oghenevwoke and Sharp felt relaxed after I sent the voice note to them. But later, Famous stopped responding to my messages. This action forced me to reach out to one of his friends in The Philippines. Unfortunately, the friend I reached out to said he was no longer friends with him,” said Ali.

“His friend also added that if he knew I had business with the agent, he would have cautioned me never to transact with him. He ended by saying Famous could no longer be trusted.”

After a while, Ali was able to secure a number belonging to Famous’ mother. While chatting with her, he acted like a customer that wanted to process a new visa. With this, he was able to get the agent’s other functional phone number from his mother.

Ali later called Famous and just like he did to his mother, he pretended to be interested in getting a new Visa. On hearing this, Famous responded positively.

From their subsequent conversations, Ali found out Famous had moved on with life.

“His utterances showed he had moved on. It also showed there was no way I would get the N800,000 I paid him back,” Ali said.

FAMOUS ‘COMMANDED’ ALI TO TAKE DOWN A POST   

Ali became frustrated and resorted to calling Famous out on Twitter.

“After I called him out on Twitter, Famous reached out to me and told me to take the post down,” Ali said.

Despite asking his client to take down the post however, Famous did not show signs of wanting to make a refund.

READ ALSO: ‘Facilitators Demanding N200,000 for US Visa Interview Dates’

“Till we speak, he has refused to talk about how he would pay me back. He has also stopped picking my calls. Oghenevwoke and Sharp have also continued to demand that I pay them back their money. If I had known, I would not have transacted with him,” said Ali.

When FIJ contacted Famous, he said that Ali should ‘settle’ with his lawyers first because he had damaged his business image.

“Ali made some damages; he called me out on Twitter. Let him settle with my lawyers, first. We will take up the case from there,” he said.