Impersonator Bags 2 Years For Defrauding US Lady

A Federal High court sitting in Lagos has sentenced a middle-aged man, Courage Ipaka to two years imprisonment for impersonating Flavour N’abania, the singer.

Ipaka was said to have used the singer’s identity to defraud Yvelte M. Thompson, a United States-based lady, of $53,000.

Azibagiri Dan Ekpar, the investigator at the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), led the probe against Ipaka on Tuesday.

Ekpar told the court that the defendant promised to organise shows in America and received payment from his victim through his Bitcoin wallets.

He said the EFCC was notified of the fraud following a petition written by one Eyitayo Tolulope Abiodun and others on behalf of the victim.

“We invited Flavour who honoured the invitation and claimed innocence of the allegations,” Ekpar told the court.

“Upon investigation, we discovered that one Ipaka Courage who lives in Benin City was the perpetrator.

“We invited the defendant, and he admitted in his statement that he impersonated Flavour by obtaining the sum of $53,000 from a woman who is a United States citizen in 2021.

“He wired the funds through Bitcoin wallets and converted them in his Access Bank account where he received the value in Naira.

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“The sum of N7.9 million was recovered from the defendant through Zenith and Access Bank manager’s cheques.”

Ipaka pleaded guilty to cybercrime and money laundering charges.

In his ruling, Dehinde Dipeolu, the presiding judge, sentenced Ipaka to two years imprisonment but with an option of a fine of N2 million. He also forfeited the sum of N7.9 million to Thompson.