By Oyinkansayo Wole-Bodunde.
A man named Courage Ipaka has been sentenced to two years in prison for impersonating the popular Nigerian singer, Flavour.
Ipaka used Flavour’s identity to deceive a woman from the United States, Yvelte M. Thompson, into sending him a large sum of money, $53,000.
He promised to organize concerts in America but never did. Instead, he used the money for his own personal gain.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) investigated the case after receiving a petition from the victim. They invited Flavour to come and clear his name, which he did.
The investigation led them to Courage Ipaka, who lives in Benin City. Ipaka confessed to the crime, admitting that he had used Flavour’s name to scam the woman.
The court heard that Ipaka received the money through Bitcoin wallets and then transferred it into his Access Bank account, where he converted it into Nigerian Naira. The authorities were able to recover N7.9 million from Ipaka’s accounts.
In his ruling, the presiding judge, Dehinde Dipeolu, found Ipaka guilty of the crime and sentenced him to two years in prison. The judge also gave Ipaka the option to pay a fine of N2 million instead of going to prison.
Additionally, Ipaka was ordered to return the money he stole from the victim.
