. citizen, Yvelte M. Thompson, out of $53,000. Justice Dehinde Dipeolu delivered the sentence on Tuesday after Ipaka pleaded guilty to the charges brought against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The judge also offered Ipaka the option of a ₦2 million fine and ordered him to forfeit ₦7.9 million to the victim.
During the trial, EFCC prosecutor Suleiman Suleiman presented evidence through investigator Azibagiri Ekpar, who detailed how Ipaka carried out the fraud.
According to Ekpar, Ipaka impersonated Flavour by claiming he would organize shows in the United States and received payments through his Bitcoin wallets.
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“The scam came to light after the EFCC received a petition from Eyitayo Abiodun and others on behalf of Thompson,” Ekpar said.
Ekpar further revealed that Flavour was contacted and denied any involvement in the fraud, leading investigators to Benin City, where they identified Ipaka as the true culprit.
In his statement, Ipaka admitted to impersonating Flavour and scamming Mrs. Thompson out of $53,000 in 2021. He confessed to converting the funds into naira and depositing them into his Access Bank account.
The EFCC recovered ₦7.9 million from Ipaka’s accounts through manager’s cheques from Zenith and Access banks.
We invited Flavour, who came forward and denied any involvement in the allegations. Our investigation led us to Benin City, where we found that Ipaka Courage was the real culprit,” Ekpar said.
He added, “Ipaka admitted in his statement that he impersonated Flavour and scammed Mrs Thompson of $53,000 in 2021.
“Ipaka said he converted the funds into naira and deposited them into his Access Bank account.
“The sum of N7.9m was recovered from Ipaka’s accounts through the manager’s cheques from Zenith and Access banks.”
After reviewing the evidence, Justice Dipeolu sentenced Ipaka to two years imprisonment with the option to pay a fine.
