A Federal High Court in Lagos has sentenced Courage Ipaka to two years in prison for impersonating Nigerian musician Chinedu Okoli, popularly known as Flavour N’abania, and defrauding a U.S. citizen of $53,000. The judgment was delivered by Justice Dehinde Dipeolu after Ipaka pleaded guilty to the charges brought against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Ipaka, who had posed as Flavour, convinced Mrs. Yvelte Thompson, a U.S. resident, to pay him for organizing events in the United States. The EFCC’s investigation, led by investigator Azibagiri Ekpar, revealed that Ipaka received the payments through Bitcoin wallets, later converting the funds into Naira in his Access Bank account.
The fraud came to light after a petition was filed by Eyitayo Abiodun and others on behalf of the victim. The EFCC was able to recover N7.9 million from the defendant’s accounts. Despite the two-year sentence, Justice Dipeolu offered Ipaka an option to pay a fine of N2 million.
News Editor