Yahoo Boy jailed 2 years for impersonating Flavour N’abania, scamming US woman

A Federal High Court in Lagos has sentenced Courage Ipaka to two years in prison for defrauding U.S. citizen Mrs. Yvelte Thompson of $53,000 by impersonating Nigerian musician Chinedu Okoli, popularly known as Flavour N’abania.

Justice Dehinde Dipeolu handed down the sentence after Ipaka pleaded guilty to a two-count charge filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

During the proceedings, prosecution counsel Suleiman Suleiman presented evidence from EFCC investigator Azibagiri Ekpar.

The court heard that Ipaka posed as Flavour N’abania, claiming he could organize shows in the U.S. and received payments through Bitcoin.

Ekpar testified that the EFCC learned of the fraud through a petition from Eyitayo Abiodun and others on behalf of the victim.

Following an investigation, it was revealed that Ipaka, residing in Benin City, Edo State, was behind the scam. Ipaka admitted to using Bitcoin to receive the $53,000, which he later converted to Naira in his Access Bank account.

The court also recovered N7.9 million from Ipaka through Zenith and Access Bank manager’s cheques.

In addition to the two-year prison sentence, Ipaka was given an option to pay a fine of N2 million.

The judge also ordered the forfeiture of N7.9 million to Mrs. Thompson.