Praise Humphrey Igbo jailed for one year over $115,000 Internet fraud

December 12, 2024

By Samuel Ogunsona

A Federal Capital Territory High Court, Abuja, sitting in Jabi, has convicted and sentenced Praise Humphrey Igbo, alias Jessica Allen, to one year imprisonment for $115,000 fraud.

Justice H.L Abba-Aliyu sentenced him after finding him guilty of the offence. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had arraigned him on a count bordering on Internet crime, criminal impersonation, obtaining money under false pretence, and money laundering.

The EFCC prosecution counsel, M.K Hussain, told the court that the convict posed as a lady by pretending to be Jessica Allen, a successful cryptocurrency trader in the United States of America.

“In that assumed character, the convict fraudulently obtained 5.26 Bitcoins worth $115,000, the property of Aaron Baker, by false pretence,” Hussain said.

Hussain stated that the incident took place sometime in 2022, in Abuja.

According to the prosecutor, the offence committed contravened Section 321 of the Penal Code Act Abuja, Cap 532 LFN 2004 and is punishable under Section 324 of the same Act.

“In view of his plea, I pray the court to convict and sentence him accordingly,” Hussain said.

Consequently, Justice Abba-Aliyu convicted and sentenced him to one-year imprisonment, but gave him an option of N1m fine.

The judge also ordered 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.

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