A United States court has dismissed the case against Olalekan Ponle, a Nigerian accused of multi-million dollar wire fraud.
Mr Ponle, popularly known as Woodberry, was arrested, alongside Ramon Abbas (Hushpuppi) in the United Arab Emirate on June 10 for multiple fraud charges after a raid by operatives of the Dubai crime unit,
The United States government on Monday filed a motion through its attorney, John R. Lausch, requesting that the case against Mr Ponle should be dismissed without prejudice,
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,” Mr Gettleman ruled,
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,
However, when it is dismissed without prejudice, like in the case of Mr Ponle, the dismissal is temporary as the prosecutor can refile the case within a certain period of time,
The probable causes of dismissal range from unavailability of sufficient evidence, an improper criminal complaint or charging document, to loss of evidence necessary to prove the defendant committed the crime,
Also, there are indications that the prosecutor will re-file a case against him
Olalekan Ajimoti – Blogger, Content Writer, and Digital Marketer helping brands and retailers build 8-figure e-commerce since 2016.
As a corporate trainer, brand communications expert, and brand consultant, I help people start, stay and grow in business leveraging digital skills and traditional expertise.
