The lawyer representing Olalekan Ponle aka Woodberry, Michael Nash, has stated the reason for the dismissal of the fraud case against his client.
Odunews.com reports that the wire fraud case instituted against Woodberry was struck out after the US prosecutor sought for its dismissal.
In the court order issued by Judge Robert W. Gettleman on Tuesday, the government’s motion to dismiss the complaint without prejudice was granted.
Responding to an inquiry by PREMIUM TIMES, Mr Nash said the case was 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.”
He, however, failed to provide clarifications to what he meant by a ‘slightly different crime’.
When contacted on Thursday night, Assistant U.S. Attorney, Joseph D. Fitzpatrick, who spoke on behalf of the plaintiff, said although the complaint is dismissed, but the grand jury indictment is still active.
“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,” he told this newspaper.
He said Mr Ponle “has now been charged by indictment, instead of being charged by the complaint by FBI”.
The accused remains in the custody of the U.S. Marshal.
