21-year-old bags six-month jail term for $2,300 internet fraud

A Federal High Court in Ibadan has sentenced a 21-year-old internet fraudster, Faisol Kareem, to six months imprisonment for $2,300 internet fraud.

In her judgment, Justice Uche Agomoh said that she convicted and sentenced Kareem based on the evidence before her and the plea bargain agreement he had with Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

Agomoh further said that she considered the provisions of Section 270 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA), 2015 which spelt out how someone who entered plea bargain agreement should be sentenced.

“Also, the convict is a first time offender and has not wasted the time and resources of this court.

“Therefore, Kareem is sentenced to six months in prison.

“The custodian sentence starts from the date he was first arrested.

“All the proceeds of crime found in his possession are forfeited to the Federal Government of Nigeria.

“Upon completion of jail term, you must write an undertaking to EFCC that you will never participate in any form of crime again,” Agomoh said.

Earlier, Counsel to EFCC, Ibadan Zonal Office, Mr Oluwatoyin Oladunni, had told the court that the convict was arraigned on a count charge, bordering on impersonation.

Oladunni stated that Kareem was apprehended by EFCC operatives on Aug. 28, 2021 at his hideout in Ibadan.

He said that Kareem specialised in deceiving unsuspecting foreigners through his fictitious email address and impersonating as a white American.

The counsel added that the convict was caught in possession of $2300, an Itel phone and many incriminating documents.

Oladunni said that the offence contravened the provisions of Section 22(2B) of the Cyber Crime Prohibition and Prevention Act, 2015.