Flavour Speaks Out After Impersonator Receives Two-Year Jail Term For $53k Fraud Scheme

Flavour Speaks Out After Impersonator Receives Two-Year Jail Term For $53k Fraud Scheme

Singer Chinedu Okoli, popularly known as Flavour N’abania, has responded to the news of the Federal High Court in Lagos sentencing Courage Ikpaka (pictured above, right) to two years in prison for impersonating him and defrauding an American woman, Yvelte M. Thompson, out of $53,000.

As previously reported, Justice Dehinde Dipeolu delivered the verdict on Tuesday, September 3, after Ikpaka pleaded guilty to the two-count charge brought against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

The prosecution, led by counsel Suleiman Suleiman, presented evidence from EFCC investigator Azibagiri Dan Ekpar. During the trial, the court heard that Ikpaka had impersonated Flavour, promising to organize shows in the United States and receiving payment through Bitcoin wallets. Ekpar revealed that the EFCC became aware of the fraud following a petition filed by Eyitayo Tolulope Abiodun and others on behalf of the victim.

“We invited Flavour, who cooperated fully and denied any involvement in the allegations. Our investigation led us to Ikpaka Courage, who resides in Benin City. He confessed to impersonating Flavour and defrauding a U.S. citizen of $53,000 in 2021. He funneled the money through Bitcoin wallets, converted it to Naira, and deposited it into his bank account. We recovered N7.9 million from the defendant through Zenith and Access Bank manager’s cheques,” Ekpar testified.

After Ikpaka’s guilty plea and the prosecution’s evidence review, Justice Dipeolu sentenced him to two years in prison, with the option of a N2 million fine. Additionally, the judge ordered the forfeiture of the N7.9 million recovered from Ikpaka to Mrs. Thompson.

Reacting to the news on his X (formerly Twitter) handle, Flavour shared a photo of the impersonator, captioning it with, “One down. Ndi uchu!”