Abuja Court Jails Man for $115,000 Internet Fraud

Justice H.L Abba-Aliyu of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court, Jabi, Abuja on Wednesday, December 11, 2024 convicted and sentenced one Praise Humphrey Igbo (a.k.a) Jessica Allen to one year imprisonment for fraud.

He was prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes, EFCC on a one-count charge, bordering on internet crime, criminal impersonation, obtaining money under false pretence and money laundering to the tune of $115,000 (One Hundred and Fifteen Thousand United States Dollars).

His charge reads: “That you, Praise Humphrey Igbo sometime in 2022 in Abuja within the jurisdiction of this honorable court, with intent to defraud, did cheat by pretending to be one Jesisca Allen, a successful crypto currency trader in the United State of America and in that assumed character, fraudulently obtained 5.26 Bitcoins worth One Hundred and Fifteen Thousand United State Dollars ($115,000) by false pretence, property of Aaron Baker, thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 321 of the Penal Code Act Abuja, Cap 532 LFN 2004 and punishable under Section 324 of the same Act.”

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He pled “guilty” to the charge when it was read to him upon which prosecution counsel, M.K Hussain prayed the court to convict and sentence him accordingly.

Justice Abba-Aliyu convicted and sentenced him to one year imprisonment or to pay a fine of one million naira (N1,000,000). She further ruled that the sum of $16, 110 and $67,487.79 worth of cryptocurrency recovered from him and the money in his bank account be used to restitute his victim through the American Embassy.

Igbo’s journey to the Correctional Centre started when a petitioner,  East Baton Rouge Parish (Aaron Bakker), an American, alleged that a the convict pretending to be one Jessica Allen, a purported crypto investor, stole $115,000 worth of Bitcoin from him on Blockchain.com after presenting an investment opportunity to him, which turned out to the fake.