18 Years Old Sentenced for Scamming American With Fake Lottery Story

(Hassan Usman. Photo by Linkedin)
An 18 years old, Hassan Usman Olamilekan, has been convicted by the Federal High Court in Ikoyi, Lagos, for scamming an American citizen of $800 through a gift card scheme.

Justice Dipeolu handed down the conviction on Friday, October 30, 2026, after Olamilekan pleaded guilty to one count of money laundering brought by the EFCC.

According to the EFCC, he contacted the victim, Gary Brewer, on the Zangi messaging app, pretending to be a white American woman named Julie Leach.

He told Brewer he had won a $250 million lottery but needed money to activate the prize.

Brewer then sent him gift cards worth $800.

Olamilekan allegedly sold the cards through the Cardsonic app, turned the money into naira and sent it to his grandmother's OPay account.

He admitted to benefiting from the $800.

The court ordered him to pay a fine of N200,000 and to hand over N1 million to the Federal Government as restitution.

He will stay in a correctional centre until both are paid.

His iPhone 11 Pro and Poco C71 phones have also been forfeited.

The EFCC says he ran several social media accounts, including on all social media platform to carry out the scam.

He was one of 21 suspected internet fraudsters arrested in a sting at Applewood Estate in Lekki on October 26, 2026.