The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has arrested the General Overseer of Faith on the Rock Ministry International, Apostle Theophilus Oloche Ebonyi, for defrauding church members and other Nigerians, using fake grants from the Ford Foundation, to the tune of N1.3 billion.
A statement by EFCC’s spokesman, Dele Oyewale, said Ebonyi was arrested for defrauding his victims, comprising non-governmental organizations and individuals, by advertising a fake $20 billion intervention project through his Theobarth Global Foundation, claiming that a grant was offered to the less privileged persons from the United States Ford Foundation.
The statement said the suspect allegedly deceived his victims to subscribe as beneficiaries of the phony grant by asking them to pay for registration forms and clusters, adding that each subscriber was made to pay N1.8 million, through which he obtained N1.3 billion from innocent and unsuspecting Nigerians and NGOs across the country.
“Investigations by the EFCC showed that Ford Foundation had no arrangement, grant, relationship or business with Ebonyi.
“The Foundation pointedly disclaimed him and his NGO stressing that it had no link whatsoever with them,” a statement released by the EFCC on Monday said.
The anti-graft agency said it has also traced five properties Ebonyi acquired with the proceeds of his criminal dealings.
According to the statement, despite his arrest and detention, Ebonyi is reportedly still reaching his subscribers on some social media platforms to market his spurious grant from ‘Ford Foundation’.
The EFCC said the suspect would soon be arraigned once investigations were concluded.
