The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has taken Pastor Apostle Theophilus Oloche Ebonyi, General Overseer of Faith On The Rock Ministry International, into custody over allegations of defrauding church members and other Nigerians through a scam involving fake grants amounting to N1,319,040,274.31, falsely linked to the Ford Foundation.
According to EFCC spokesperson Dele Oyewale, Ebonyi stands accused of deceiving victims, including non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and individuals, by promoting an intervention project through his NGO, Theobarth Global Foundation.
He allegedly propagated the false claim that the Ford Foundation was offering a $20,000,000.000 grant to assist the less privileged in society, primarily reaching out to potential beneficiaries through various social media platforms.
Oyewale’s statement revealed that Ebonyi allegedly persuaded victims to subscribe to the fraudulent grant scheme by charging them for registration forms and clusters, each subscriber paying N1,800,000.
In this manner, he reportedly amassed a total of N1,391,040,274.31.
The victims were described as unsuspecting Nigerians and NGOs across the country.
EFCC investigations uncovered that the Ford Foundation had no association, grant arrangement, relationship, or business with Ebonyi.
The Foundation explicitly disavowed any connection with him and his NGO, asserting no link whatsoever. Furthermore, the EFCC traced five properties acquired by Ebonyi as proceeds of his alleged criminal activities.
The anti-graft agency concluded that the suspect will face charges in court once investigations are finalized.
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