Source: www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/features/crimewatch/2009/july/09/crimewatch-09-07-2009-001.htm

Thursday, July 09, 2009

If you are planning to put your hard-earned money in a microfinance bank, this message is for you. Beware of fraudsters who reap where they did not sow.

Some victims who fell for a syndicate, which floated a microfinance bank, GreenHouse Microfinance aka wealth builders, in Lagos that was used as a conduit pipe to swindle thousands of depositors million of naira. Instead of being a wealth builder the bank turned out to be wealth looter, leaving the victims in penury.

GreenHouse Microfinance Bank, with about eight branches in Lagos and Ogun states had its head office at No. 58 Enitan Street, Aguda, Surulere, Lagos.

Investigations carried out by Daily Sun revealed that the prime suspect, simply known as Mr. Tayo, ascribed to himself the position of a managing director and recruited other staffers, who went scouting for customers. The bank was believed to have more than eight branches in Lagos and Ogun states, while more than 6,000 customers were believed to have fallen prey to the scam.

Hapless depositors had no cause to doubt the genuineness of the Microfinance Bank as it had what served as its headquarters the address, phone numbers, websites, among others, boldly written in its publications, including passbook and brochures it circulated to members of the public.
The aggressive marketers were said to have got many depositors in Surulere, Mushin, Okokomaiko, Ijesha and other parts of the Lagos metropolis. The depositors were said to have deposited various amount of money in the Microfinance Bank on daily basis. Some of them even opened different accounts, using different names.

One of the victims, Mr. Joseph Ogbadu, who opened account for himself, his wife and his mother at the Okokomaiko branch of the bank. He was said to have already deposited the sum of N600, 000 before the bubble burst.

According to him, he had been making daily contributions known in Yoruba as Esusu with the outfit before the scammers came up with the idea of GreenHouse Microfinance in 2008.
He said: “I started depositing daily contributions with them before August 2008, when the organization came up with GreenHouse Microfinance Bank. After they convinced me of the advantages of the new bank, I switched over and started depositing money in the bank.” The conditions given to the customers was that they would be given 15 per cent of the amount of money deposited in the bank over a certain period of time.”

“With that assurance, I opened an account for myself, my wife, Adaugo and my mother, Rose. I was paying N1, 500 for three of us. They gave me passbooks; they also gave us GreenHouse Microfinance number and teller.” It was a staff of the bank, simply known as John, who was assigned to come to his shop in Okokomaiko on daily basis to collect the money.

Ogbadu said he became suspicious when John, after collecting money from him and signing, came the following day, to collect another money but signed on the same column meant for the money he collected the previous day.

“If I gave him money, he would sign in the column meant for the one deposited the previous day. When I noticed it, I reported him to the management, they calculated the money he did not sign for me and promised to pay back, while John was replaced with a female staffer, Mercy.
Bubble, however, burst on June 20, 2009, when Ogbadu deposited money and waited in vain for Mercy the following day to come for the usual N1, 500. “She didn’t show up. After waiting for two days, I called her on phone to inquire what was wrong and she told me she was sick and that she had travelled to her village for treatment.”

But when the victim called Mercy on phone next time, he received a shocker. Mercy became unfriendly and even shouted at him, asking him if she was the company he deposited his money with.
“Go to them and collect your money, why are you disturbing me, am I the company which defrauded you? After that, she allegedly switched off her handset.

It, therefore, dawned on Ogbadu that he had become a victim of scam and quickly rushed to the headquarters at Surulere. He said he was surprised at what he saw there. More than 1,000 victims had also stormed the office for the refund of their money but the office was under lock and key.

Another victim, Mr. Chijioke Onyechukwu, who deposited his money at the company’s Surulere head office said: “Nancy was my accounts officer. I called her on phone and she informed that the company had problems and that for the past two weeks, they had not seen the managing director.
Nancy further told him that the company had not paid the staff their salaries and appealed for his patience and understanding as the MD’s whereabouts was yet unknown. Onyechukwu alleged that even when the company had folded up and the MD was nowhere to be found, staff of the company went ahead to collect money from unsuspecting customers for their own personal use.

As victims continued to besiege the head office, the MD allegedly sent a message to them, from his hideout, through the marketers, asking them to make photocopies of their passbooks and drop them at the security post.

After collecting the photocopies, the security men asked them to come back at the end of the month. But to their surprise, when they went there, the place was deserted.

Rose Stephen, a teacher told Daily Sun that she had hoped to take a loan of N100, 000, if she was able to deposit N50, 000, adding that it was her friend, Blessing, who convinced her to start depositing money in the microfinance bank.

She said: “My friend and classmate, Blessing, introduce GreenHouse Microfinnace Bank to me. She was a staff of the company. I had needed some money so, I went to her for financial assistance and she asked me to register with their company. She told me that if I was able to save up to N50, 000; I would collect a loan of N100, 000. So, I started saving with them on April, 2009.

By May, 2009, she had deposited the sum of N50, 000 and asked her friend to tell her the procedures for applying for the loan. But her friend only asked her to wait till July. “But the next time I call her on phone, she told me they were at a meeting and I informed her that I was already in their office and that it was locked. She became speechless and banged the phone,” she said.

Uche Onyekwere, a technician, who claimed to have known the managing director since 1998 explained that he was organizing tutorials for JAMB, GCE, and WAEC candidates. He also described him as a motivational speaker and writer, before he started esusu and later floated the microfinance bank.
“Each time I went to him, he would always tell me how to make wealth. I was not surprised when he told me he had established a microfinance bank and asked me to register with them.

He personally registered me and assigned an account officer to me. Last year, they sold shares and I bought. Unfortunately, till date, I have not received my share certificate. It was when I needed N5, 000 that I went to him only to discover that the office was under lock and key,” Onyekwere said.
Daily Sun called their Customer Care’s phone numbers, but none was reachable. And when we tried to log in to their website at www.wealthbuilders.com, it was not functioning. Daily Sun also tried to send correspondence to the company through their e-mail address, greenhouse@yahoo.com but it bounced back.

Meanwhile, policemen have granted bail to some of the company’s staff who were arrested, while they were said to have stepped up manhunt for the fleeing MD.