The detained Nigerian over alleged $350,000 fraud charges in the United States of America (USA),Abidemi Rufai , has kicked against fresh allegation of his involvement in a fraudulent surety scheme as claimed by the authorities.
Penpushing reports that, Rufai in respond to the fresh allegation by the United States Department of Justice argued that the government failed to establish the allegations against him, stressing that. nothing in the transcript of the conversation referred to by the. authorities indicates that he was unfamiliar with his surety.
,The accused through his lawyer Michael Barrows in his reaction described the government’s claim as a pure fiction indicative of its desperation to keep him(Rufai) in detention at all cost.
“A review of the government’s most recent memorandum, purporting to depict Mr Rufai’s informal and innocuous conversation with his brother – where they each refer to the surety as ‘lady’ – as evidence of a “fraudulent surety scheme” is both self-serving and unsupported by the transcripts themselves”, the counsel said
“The government’s position that Mr. Rufai did not even know his surety and did not know basic biographical information about her is an absolute fabrication and cannot be found anywhere in the transcript of conversation between Mr Rufai and his brother’,Barrows emphasised
“This is pure fiction, and is a further indication that the government will say anything, supportable or not, in an effort to keep Mr Rufai incarcerated pending his trial so as to exert maximum pressure” ,he said
Penpushing also reports that, the lawyer pointed out that, the government’s “intentional mischaracterisations of both Rufai’s conversation with his brother, and the nature of his relationship with the proffered surety, demonstrates the underlying weakness of the government’s position vis-a-vis their request for review of the Eastern District’s decision to grant him(Rufai) pre-trial release.”
“The government’s further claim that Mr Rufai’s statement to his brother that ‘the money is available’ somehow indicates that Mr Rufai ‘has significant assets which he is willing to use however he can to secure his own release’ is equally unsupported by the record, yet offered as fact’Barrows argued.
“In actuality, Mr Rufai’s statement that money is available” is indicative of the fact that he has the support of caring friends and family that he can call upon should this Court require a bond”,the lawyer added
Penpushing reports that, it is recalled that, the, Acting United States of America(USA) Attorney, Tessa Gorma, had in a documents filed at a United States Courthouse, in Tacoma, Washington, on June 23, alleged that Rufai misled the court by presenting before the court a surety he barely knew as his friend.
Meanwhile, Rufai a former aide to Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State was on May 14, arrested at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York while heading to Nigeria,his home country
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