The Federal High Court in Lagos has imposed a two-year prison sentence on Courage Ipaka, who was found guilty of defrauding a U.S. citizen of $53,000 by impersonating popular Nigerian musician Chinedu Okoli, better known as Flavour N’abania.
Justice Dehinde Dipeolu delivered the verdict after Ipaka admitted to charges of fraud and identity theft brought by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). Ipaka’s conviction comes after he confessed to using Flavour’s name to secure payments for non-existent shows in the United States, which he collected via Bitcoin transactions.
Prosecutor Suleiman Suleiman presented compelling evidence, including testimony from EFCC investigator Azibagiri Ekpar. Ekpar explained that Ipaka orchestrated the scam in 2021, convincing the victim, Mrs. Yvelte Thompson, to transfer the substantial sum through Bitcoin after impersonating as Flavour, which Ipaka then converted to Naira through his Access Bank account.
The fraud was uncovered following a petition filed by Eyitayo Abiodun and others on behalf of Mrs. Thompson. The EFCC’s investigation led to Ipaka’s arrest, during which he confessed to the crime and revealed that he had transferred the stolen funds into his bank accounts.
In addition to the prison sentence, Justice Dipeolu imposed a fine of N2 million on Ipaka. The court also ordered that the sum of N7.9 million, recovered from Ipaka’s bank accounts, be forfeited to Mrs. Thompson as compensation.
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