Published 18th Jan, 2022

By Emmanuel Uti

Joseph Osaze, a businessman, has alleged that Iheanacho Charles, the founder of Farms 32, defrauded him to the tune of N200,000.

Osaze told FIJ that before he invested in Farms 32, he followed Iheanacho Charles ardently on Facebook. He said he was intrigued by how Charles posted that he paid his investors before their due date.

According to him, Charles would post many crops and pieces of land with growing crops on them, saying they were his farms. After observing him for a while, Osaze concluded there was no hazard if he invested in Charles’ business.

“I invested N200,000 in June 2021 for a period of four months. I was supposed to cash out N270,000 with a bag of rice. But that was where my issue started with him. I could not cash out. I reached out to him because on our portal on his site, I could not cash out,” Osaze told FIJ.

“Later, I cashed out, but I could not withdraw funds to my bank account. When I told Charles what I discovered, he asked that I hold on as he had exhausted the money he had made that week. He also promised to add three percent to what he was supposed to pay me.”

By October, according to Osaze, Charles stopped answering his calls. He said whenever he sent text messages to Charles, he would hardly reply. After a while, Osaze said, Charles reached out to him and other investors via a Zoom meeting to inform them that he was at a loss. He then promised them he would pay them back, but according to Osaze, his promises were cock and bull stories.

“I invested in a rice farm with Charles, but after he failed to pay, I investigated and found that he had no rice farm. He would rather invest in another company that owes people,” said Osaze.

“He posted some pictures on Facebook of a fowl that died, saying he lost a lot. But these pictures were also posted by someone else. Charles just dribbled us and always reneged on his promises.”

Osaze further said he knew some investors who, in total, lost over N4 million to Farms 32.

Favour Ochor, another investor, said she invested N168,000 in palm oil with Farms 32 in July 2021. He promised her she would get a 30 percent return on her investment every month with her capital intact, but it did not happen.

“Charles did not pay me once. He lied all the way. I did not get the RoI, nor did I get my initial capital by October, when my investment was due,” she said.

Another victim, Concillia Ukachukwu, said she invested N200,000 in March 2021 after she saw a series of Facebook adverts with the hope she would get N26,000 monthly for six months and her capital at the end of the six months, but it did not happen as Charles promised.

“In truth, he paid N26,000 for six months, but my capital is still with him. I have called him several times, but he never picks up. Sometimes, he sent a short text indicating he was driving, but he never called back. The whole thing is looking like a fraud to me,” she said.

“In November, he promised to pay, but he did not pay. His lies are numerous. He bought a Lexus SUV and claimed it was for logistics for his business, but how does that make sense? He went to a bush in one village and said he wanted to sell the land for N1.5 million to pay us.”

When FIJ contacted Iheanacho Charles, his line was switched off. At press time, he had not responded to a text sent to him.

FIJ findings revealed that Farms 32 is located at Ogabaku, Owerri-Onitsha Road in Imo State. Also, Farms 32 official Facebook page is now inactive. Their last post is dated October 16, 2021, and the one before it is dated August 13, 2021.

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