The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Thursday arraigned Idris Akande at an Ikeja Special Offences Court, Lagos, for allegedly defrauding the United States Internal Revenue Service of $770,000.

Akande is facing a three-count of conspiracy and fraud brought against him by the EFCC before Justice Owolabi Dabiri.

EFCC prosecutor M. K. Hussain told the court that Akande and Gbadebo Adebiyi, still at large, committed the offence sometime between 2013 and 2018 within the Lagos judicial jurisdiction.

Hussain said Akande fraudulently obtained $ 770,000.00 from the United States Internal Revenue Service by falsely misrepresenting himself to be an official of Bradley University, Illinois, USA.

He alleged that the defendant demanded tax refunds to be paid into Green Dot accounts fraudulently created by him.

The defendant was said to have also used his personal identification information to illegally access the university’s data base, which representations he knew to be false.

Akande was accused of retaining in his control, the aggregate sum of $40,000, being proceeds of criminal conduct perpetrated against the United States Internal Revenue Service as at the time of his arrest.

Responding to the charge, defence counsel Mr. A. Anaka prayed the court to remand the defendant in the EFCC custody and asked for a short adjournment to prepare his bail application and defence.

He argued that the defendant is a first time offender and has not been in prison before.

EFCC counsel Hussain told the court that he is under a strict caution not to allow the defendant to be remanded in EFCC custody and prayed for a trial date.

Justice Dabiri, after taking submissions of the parties, remanded the defendant in EFCC custody and adjourned the case till September 16 for hearing of bail application.