Efe Sodje, two brothers jailed for taking Charity money

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Efe Sodje, two brothers jailed for taking Charity money

Post by ojafranpa »

https://persecondnews.com/2019/01/21/fo ... ity-money/

Former Super Eagles star Efe Sodje, 46, and Stephen Sodje, 43, and ex-rugby player Bright Sodje, 52, were found guilty and jailed for the fraud in 2017
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Re: Efe Sodje, two brothers jailed for taking Charity money

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Three Sodje brothers jailed for taking charity money

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(From left to right) Ex-rugby player Bright Sodje and ex-footballers Stephen Sodje and Efe Sodje were jailed for fraud in 2017

A sporting family syphoned off cash from their own charity set up to help African children, it can be reported.

Ex-footballers Efe Sodje, 46, and Stephen Sodje, 43, and ex-rugby player Bright Sodje, 52, were found guilty and jailed for the fraud in 2017.

The case can only be reported now following the conclusion of a separate trial involving former Reading and Nigeria footballer Sam Sodje, 39.

Earlier on Monday, he was cleared at the Old Bailey of money laundering.

The fraud trial in 2017 had heard how the family set up the Sodje Sports Foundation (SSF) in 2009, ostensibly to help provide facilities in Nigeria.

However, cash raised at black-tie dinners, auctions, charity football matches and a clay pigeon shoot went into Sodje bank accounts, prosecutor Julian Christopher QC said.

In once instance, in 2011, there was a gala dinner at the Lowry Hotel in Manchester for the SSF and the Royal Manchester Children's Hospital.

The £150-a-head black-tie event raised almost £11,500, but Mr Christopher said "not a penny" went to the hospital.


Retired footballer Efe Sodje was described as "the face of the charity" by the judge
Judge Michael Topolski QC told the defendants: "You have brought shame upon yourselves and your family."

He said "at least £63,000 can be shown to have been received by the fund", and added that this did not include cash donations.

The defendants "went out of their way" to ensure that proper records were not kept, he said.

Any good works done in the past would be "forever tainted by their dishonest and disreputable conduct", he added.

Stephen Sodje, of Bexley, was sentenced to two years and six months in prison for receiving £30,000 in charity funds.

Efe Sodje, of Cheadle in Greater Manchester, who was "the face" of the charity, was given 18 months in jail for receiving £7,500 from the SSF and an unknown amount from a clay pigeon shooting event.

Bright Sodje, of Sale in Greater Manchester, was jailed for 21 months for receiving £3,000 from the charity and signing cheques to other family members totalling £18,000.

'Misused privileged position'
The Charity Commission worked with the National Crime Agency to secure the prosecution.

Tracy Howarth, the commission's head of regulatory compliance, said the defendants had "misused their privileged position to exploit donors and supporters, and their financial gain came at the expense of the children and causes the charity was supposed to support".

She added: "The outcome of this case sends a strong message that the deliberate, wilful and cynical abuse of charity for private financial gain will be investigated and will not go unpunished."

Reporting restrictions meant the brothers' convictions could only be reported following the conclusion of the separate money-laundering case.


Former Reading and Nigeria defender Sam Sodje was cleared of money-laundering charges
Efe Sodje was cleared of money laundering at the Old Bailey in January 2018 but Emmanuel Ehikhamen, 53, of south-east London, and Andrew Oruma, 50, of Bexley, south London, were convicted.

The case against Sam Sodje collapsed and his retrial began on 7 January 2019.

Mr Sodje, who also played for Charlton Athletic, Brentford and Leeds United during his career, was charged with four counts of taking part in a fraud in which bank accounts were used to channel money from companies around the world.

He was found not guilty of two of the charges on 14 January and cleared of the remaining two counts earlier on Monday.

Another of the brothers, Akpo Sodje, 37, moved to Dubai and refused to return to Britain for questioning.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-46946503
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Re: Efe Sodje, two brothers jailed for taking Charity money

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Typical
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Re: Efe Sodje, two brothers jailed for taking Charity money

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I was back in Nigeria late last year and something struck me. I realized that a whole generation of Nigerians have a warped concept of "earned" labour. Many have not lived or can conceive the paradigm of effort / production based earnings. They are incapable of internalizing the fundamental link between earnings to what they produce (or the value they add). NLC - always on strike, ASUU - the worst. More money, etc. NNPC , NEPA, NPA, Nigerian Airways all contracted while the heads were making / milking $$$. The mindset that "unconventional" earning is the norm is then taken abroad. I find Nigerians in the UK the be the worst!. The concept of honest living elude many. Shortsightedness and the need to get rich today offers something today at a huge cost tomorrow. The cost is there to see but even then we keep towing the same path. I cannot understand. Good for them!
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Re: Efe Sodje, two brothers jailed for taking Charity money

Post by ogiso »

I daresay those with the mind set you describe are by far in the minority amongst Nigerians in the UK. The vast majority are making an honest living, with many making a very decent living indeed. You will find many credible Nigerians excelling or progressing in many fields of endeavour in the UK, with a strong understanding of the need to work hard. There are some bad eggs, but these are not the majority. So this generalisation, I humbly submit, is flawed.
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Re: Efe Sodje, two brothers jailed for taking Charity money

Post by peron33uk »

Fact is that a lot of these kind of things happen. The question is why chase this one and jail them.

No be the same Harry Redknapp wey do tax evasion? Where is he now?

See even red cross $500 million raised for Haiti earthquake how much actually went towards Haiti?

These people are selective of who they decide to prosecute.

Anyway .....
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God - is just a title as there are many (All false).
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Re: Efe Sodje, two brothers jailed for taking Charity money

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Rawlings wrote:Typical
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Re: Efe Sodje, two brothers jailed for taking Charity money

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ogiso wrote:I daresay those with the mind set you describe are by far in the minority amongst Nigerians in the UK. The vast majority are making an honest living, with many making a very decent living indeed. You will find many credible Nigerians excelling or progressing in many fields of endeavour in the UK, with a strong understanding of the need to work hard. There are some bad eggs, but these are not the majority. So this generalisation, I humbly submit, is flawed.
...the sad part is that those dirty minorities are the ones that make the headlines most, either in the under world of crime or where they will be spreeing money to be praised.
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Re: Efe Sodje, two brothers jailed for taking Charity money

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Do ex-pro footballers really need money badly enough to risk their freedom?
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Re: Efe Sodje, two brothers jailed for taking Charity money

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Sad.
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Re: Efe Sodje, two brothers jailed for taking Charity money

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Haba! Oga mi Dammy! You just throw curse at Rawlings like that. He may not be the sharpest tool trolling this site but the curse wey you give am is tough.
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Re: Efe Sodje, two brothers jailed for taking Charity money

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yall are funny.. the kings of 41....9 are Americans

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Re: Efe Sodje, two brothers jailed for taking Charity money

Post by marko »

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So angry Nigeria got kicked out of the world cup once again, i nearly told my wife that i caught my girlfriend with another man today!

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Re: Efe Sodje, two brothers jailed for taking Charity money

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fledy wrote:Haba! Oga mi Dammy! You just throw curse at Rawlings like that. He may not be the sharpest tool trolling this site but the curse wey you give am is tough.
My dear brother, there's a line you do not cross and he crossed it with his generalization of Nigerians as criminals. I wonder if we have administrators on this forum. He should be banned for such comments. Happy new year to you bro.
I am happy
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Re: Efe Sodje, two brothers jailed for taking Charity money

Post by toyin133 »

wiseone wrote:Do ex-pro footballers really need money badly enough to risk their freedom?
That's the sad thing. I don't think they needed the money but they saw it as free money which they could help themselves to.
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Re: Efe Sodje, two brothers jailed for taking Charity money

Post by wiseone »

Greed then?
toyin133 wrote:
wiseone wrote:Do ex-pro footballers really need money badly enough to risk their freedom?
That's the sad thing. I don't think they needed the money but they saw it as free money which they could help themselves to.

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