Undergraduate gets 20-year jail term over Internet scam

By Olubunmi Adeniyi

June 21, 2012: The Federal High Court sitting in Kaduna has sentenced an undergraduate of University of Ilorin, Imonina Kingsley, to 20 years imprisonment over internet scam.

Justice Muhammed Shuaib, who presided over the case on June 5, 2012 sentenced the 25-year old Kingsley to 20 years imprisonment on a four count charge of impersonation, possession of fraudulent documents and attempt to obtain money by false pretences preferred against him by the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC).

One of the four count charges for which he was sent to jail reads: That you, Imonina Kingsley on or about April 4, 2008 at Ilorin, Kwara State within the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court did obtain by false pretence the sum of one Thousand Us Dollar ($1000) from one Christopher De Troy through the use of a scam letter via your mail box thomasduke4luv@yahoo.com and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 8a and punishable under section 1(3) of the Advance Fee Fraud and other Fraud Related Offences Act 2006, according to information obtained from the EFCC website.

Kingsley, who is to spend five years on each of the four count charges gave his address as at the time of his arrest as Rubby Hostel, Tipper Garage, Tanke Ilorin, Kwara State. He hails from Ndokwa East Local Government Area of Delta state.

The suspect was arrested on April 4, 2008, during a special operation code-named, Operation Cyber Storm1 at Wave Network Net Cyber Café located along Pipeline Road, Tanke, Ilorin, Kwara State, used the false identity of a Mr. Thomas Duke, a supposed gay from the United Kingdom with the email address given as thomasduke4luv@yahoo.com to send fraudulent mails with intent to defraud the unsuspecting victims.

In other instances, he also claimed to be one Muyiwa Akanbi, a Beninoise and Mary Jone.

In his confessional statement, Kingsley admitted that the email address: thomasduke4luv@yahoo.com belongs to him and that he is into the “business” to make money and pay his fees at the University of Ilorin where he was studying Geology and Mineral Sciences.

He also confessed that on February 12, 2008, he sent an e-mail to Luis Barco, attaching a photograph of an unknown man which he downloaded from the internet and claimed to be a gay by the name Muyiwa Akanbi.

At another time, he mailed a message and presented himself to one Andrew Corrigan as a UK- born gay but based in Africa.

Another of his victim is Christopher De Troy of America, whom he hoodwinked into parting with $1,000 via Western Union when he presented himself as a gay from the Republic of Benin.