The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on Tuesday arraigned one Adagun Moshood Olalekan before Justice O. A Taiwo of the Lagos High Court, Igbosere, for duping one Diana Snow of $800, while posing to be Cadin Cayce Webb, a U.S. soldier serving Afghanistan.

Olalekan was arraigned on a 17-count charge of obtaining money by false pretence and possession of fraudulent documents.

His arrest followed a complaint by the United States Department of Homeland Security, alleging that the accused had been impersonating Webb and was defrauding people, especially women.

Investigators say he set up fake online profiles from September 2013 through February 2014, including one identifying him as “Lt. Col. Cadin Cayce Webb”, where he used real photos of the soldier.

The indictment alleges that he described himself as a widower with a daughter and wooed American women with “romantic emails and instant messages” and “false promises of marriage” before getting them to wire money to Nigeria.

When the charges were read to him, Olalekan pleaded not guilty to all of them.

In response to the plea, the EFCC counsel, Rotimi Oyedepo, told the court that the prosecution had its first witness in court and was ready to commence trial.

However, the defence counsel, L. O. Balogun, told the court that the defendant had already filed an application for bail dated April 14, 2014, but Oyedepo told the court that the he was only served in court.

Justice O. A. Taiwo then adjourned the case to May 15 for trail and ordered that the defendant be remanded in Ikoyi prison.