Nigeria’s Federal High Court in Lagos has sentenced Courage Ipaka, an impersonator of popular Nigerian musician Flavour, to two years in prison for defrauding an American woman of $53,000.
The Nigerian Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) led an investigation into Ipaka’s activities following a petition filed by Eyitayo Tolulope Abiodun and other stakeholders on behalf of victim Yvelte M. Thompson.
EFCC Chief Investigator Azibagiri Dan Ekpar gave details of the case in court on Tuesday, detailing how Ipaka impersonated Flavour and promised to organize musical performances in the United States in exchange for payment.
According to Ekpar, Ipaka received money from Thompson through Bitcoin transactions, which were later converted to naira and deposited into his Access Bank account.
Investigations revealed that Ipaka, who resides in Benin City, Edo State, abused Thompson’s trust to successfully orchestrate the scam in 2021.
The suspect admitted in his statement that he obtained $53,000 from a US citizen by posing as Flavour. He transferred the money through a Bitcoin wallet to his Access Bank account where he received the naira value,” Ekpar said during the trial.
During the investigation, the EFCC successfully recovered N7.9 million from Ipaka through cheques made out to Zenith and Access Bank managers, which the court declared forfeited to victim Thompson.
In his ruling, Justice Dehinde Dipeolu condemned Ipakar’s actions and sentenced him to two years imprisonment.
The court, however, gave Ipaka the option to pay a fine of N2 million instead of serving a jail term. In addition, the recovered N7.9 million will be returned to Thompson as part of the compensation.
