A multi-million dollar internet fraud case against Olalekan Ponle, otherwise known as Woodberry has been dismissed by a United States’ court.
However, emerging details indicate that a fresh complaint may be filed by authorities there soon, as prosecutor says the indictment against Ponle “is still active.”
Recall Woodberry and Ramon Abbas (Hushpuppi) have been appearing in US courts following their extradition from Dubai on July 2 after multiple raids by the city’s police led to their arrest.
According to the complaint against Woodberry, an unnamed Chicago company ignorantly sent wire transfers totalling $15.2 million to Woodberry, after the company was tricked to do so in a mega internet scam operation.
Companies based in Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, New York and California were also victims of the fraud, prosecutors say.
29-year-old Woodberry was facing charges bordering on wire fraud conspiracy at a United States District Court in Illinois.
But there was a twist to the prosecution of the case as the U.S government filed a motion through its attorney, John R. Lausch, requesting that the case against Ponle be dismissed without prejudice.
“Counsel for the government has spoken with counsel for the defendant and defendant’s counsel has no objection to this motion. Respectfully submitted,” Lausch said.
He said it is in pursuant with Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure 48, which states that the government may, with leave of court, dismiss an indictment, information, or complaint.
Also, the government may not dismiss the prosecution during trial without the defendant’s consent.
A court order issued by Judge Robert W. Gettleman on Tuesday, said the government’s motion to dismiss complaint without prejudice was granted.
“Without objection the complaint against defendant Ponle is dismissed without prejudice.
“Motion presentment hearing set for 7/23/2020 is stricken,” Gettleman ruled.
Meanwhile, Mr. Michael Nash, the Chicago lawyer representing Woodberry had said the case could have been dismissed because the government charged him with a “slightly different crime.”
“The government dismissed the case because it charged him with a slightly different crime. In the long run, no difference,” Premium Times quoted Nash in a report.
Also, the online newspaper reported that an Assistant U.S. Attorney prosecuting the case, Joseph D. Fitzpatrick, said the grand jury indictment against Woodberry still subsists despite the dismissal of the complaint by the court.
“We dismissed the complaint, but the indictment (charging 8 counts of wire fraud) is still active. We cannot comment on the dismissal of the complaint, but I wanted to make sure you knew the indictment is still active,” noting that Ponle “has now been charged by indictment, instead of being charged by the complaint by FBI.”
Checks by The New Diplomat shows that in the US legal system, when a case is dismissed with prejudice, it is over and done with, once and for all, and can’t be brought back to court.
On the other hand, when it is dismissed without prejudice, like in the case of Ponle, the dismissal is temporary as the prosecutor can refile the case within a certain period of time.
The probable causes of dismissal ranges from unavailability of sufficient evidence, an improper criminal complaint or charging document, to loss of evidence necessary to prove the defendant committed the crime.
Following the reason given by the Woodberry’s lawyer, there are indications that prosecutors would re-file a case against him.
However, Woodberry is yet to be released from detention at the time of this report. Also, Hushpuppi is still being held in detention as his prosecution by the U.S authorities is still on course.
