The Federal High Court in Ikoyi, Lagos on Wednesday, sentenced Ikpaka Courage, a graduate of Philosophy, to two years imprisonment for impersonating Nigerian singer Chinedu Okoli, known as Flavour.
Courage used this false identity to scam Mrs. Yvette M. Thompson, a U.S. citizen, out of $53,000.
Courage was charged with cybercrimes and money laundering by the Lagos Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
He pleaded guilty to the charges, admitting that he impersonated Flavour on Telegram and used a fake Nigerian passport to deceive Mrs. Thompson. He convinced her to pay $53,000, promising to perform at her birthday in Washington D.C. in July 2021.
The court heard that Courage transferred the scammed funds through a Bitcoin wallet he created for this purpose.
He was arrested by the EFCC in June 2024, and during interrogation, he confessed to the crime and agreed to return part of the money. The court received evidence, including his statements, bank records, and chat logs with the victim.
Courage was sentenced to one year imprisonment for each of the two counts, with an option of a N1,000,000 fine for each count.
The judge also ordered the forfeiture of the money to the victim and remanded Courage in EFCC custody until the order is fulfilled.