COLUMBUS – Nzambe Junior Yewawa of Orange, New Jersey, was sentenced recently on two counts of felony theft. Yewawa was sentenced to 12 months in prison on each count to run concurrently, suspended, and placed on five years of community control by Judge Jeffrey Brown in the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas for stealing $51,000 from two central Ohio investors. Judge Brown also ordered Yewawa to pay $48,351.81 in restitution to his victims. Community control may end early once restitution is paid in full.
Yewawa, 38, pleaded guilty in January to two counts of felony theft for soliciting the money to invest in his trading platform he said was guaranteed against loss of principal. He was indicted March 23, 2022, for taking the funds by deception, using the money without consent and using the investors’ funds beyond the scope of authority granted by the investors. The crimes occurred between May and July of 2016.
The indictment and prosecution occurred as a result of a criminal referral by the Ohio Department of Commerce’s Division of Securities.
This case was prosecuted by the Franklin County Prosecutor’s Office of Gary Tyack and presented by Assistant County Prosecutor Brendan Inscho.
Before investing, the Division of Securities encourages potential investors to call the Division’s Investor Protection Hotline at 877-683-7841 to ask:
- Is the securities professional, platform or firm properly licensed to do business in Ohio?
- Is the security being promoted by the firm, platform or the professional registered for sale in Ohio?
- Are there any enforcement actions involving the firm, professional, platform or securities product being promoted?
