A Nigerian man, Courage Ipaka has been sentenced for impersonating Nigerian singer Chinedu Okoli, popularly known as Flavour N’abania.
TheNewsGuru.com(TNG) reports that the Federal High Court in Lagos convicted Okoli for duping a U.S. citizen, Yvelte M. Thompson, of $53,000.
Handing down the sentence on Tuesday, Justice Dehinde Dipeolu ordered the forfeiture of ₦7.9 m to the victim after the suspect pleaded guilty to two counts brought against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The judge also gave Ipaka the option of a ₦2 million.
During the trial, Suleiman, the EFCC’s Prosecutor presented evidence through the investigator, Azibagiri Ekpar, who explained how Ipaka executed the fraud.
“Ipaka impersonated Flavour by claiming he would organise shows in the United States and received payments through his Bitcoin wallets,” Ekpar said.
Ekpar further revealed that the EFCC uncovered the scam after receiving a petition from one Eyitayo Abiodun and others on behalf of Thompson.
“We invited Flavour, who came forward and denied any involvement in the allegations. Our investigation led us to Benin City, where we found that Ipaka Courage was the real culprit,” Ekpar said.
He added, “Ipaka admitted in his statement that he impersonated Flavour and scammed Mrs Thompson of $53,000 in 2021.
“Ipaka said he converted the funds into naira and deposited them into his Access Bank account.
“The sum of N7.9m was recovered from Ipaka’s accounts through the manager’s cheques from Zenith and Access banks.”
Justice Dipeolu, after reviewing the evidence, sentenced Ipaka to two years imprisonment with the option of a fine.