Internet fraud: Court sentenced undergraduate student to 14 years in prison

He was jailed on Wednesday after a hearing by the Port Harcourt Zonal Office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on seven charges bordering on obtaining money by false pretense and impersonation.

One of the counts is as follows:
“You, Henry Nathaniel Ekanem, on or about September 17, 2024, at Choba, Port Harcourt, Rivers state, within the jurisdiction of this honorable court, obtained with fraudulent intent the sum of Twenty-Two United States dollars (by fraudulently deceiving yourself as singer Chris You obtained $22 from Diana Roskov by posing as Coran Capsha, Stapleton’s manager, a claim which you knew to be false and therefore you committed an offense contrary to Section 1(1)(a) and punishable under Section 1(3). Fraud and Other Fraud-Related Offenses Act 2006.

He pleaded guilty when the charges were read to him.

Prosecution lawyer A. Abubakar called witnesses on his defense and presented some documents as evidence, which were accepted by the court and marked as evidence.

He then requested the court to convict the defendant and sentence him accordingly.

The defendant’s lawyer, FT Fred-Boufini, did not oppose the prosecution’s prayers. Emphasizing that the accused was a first-time offender with no previous criminal record, he prayed the court to temper justice with mercy.

Justice Mohammed sentenced the defendant to the option of a fine of two hundred thousand Naira (N200,000), payable to the Consolidated Revenue Account of the Federal Government of Nigeria, or two years imprisonment for each of the seven offences.

The judge also decided that all phones seized from the convict should be given to the government as proceeds of crime. The convict will also make a statement of good behavior before the court.

Ekanem began his journey to Prison in September 2024 when Choba was arrested by Commission officers in Port Harcourt for Internet fraud and other fraud-related activities.

The convict successfully defrauded Diana Roskov, among others, by fraudulently presenting himself as the singer’s manager, Coran Capsha, Chris Stapleton, via WhatsApp and Instagram chats.