The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court in Jabi, Abuja, has convicted and sentenced Praise Humphrey Igbo, also known as Jessica Allen, to one year in prison for internet fraud amounting to $115,000.
The judgment was delivered by Justice H.L. Abba-Aliyu on Wednesday, December 11, 2024.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) prosecuted Igbo on a one-count charge of internet crime, criminal impersonation, obtaining money under false pretenses, and money laundering.
According to the EFCC, in a statement by it Head of Media and Publicity, Dele Oyewale, Igbo deceived an American victim, Aaron Baker, by posing as “Jessica Allen,” a successful cryptocurrency trader. The court was told that Igbo “fraudulently obtained 5.26 Bitcoins worth One Hundred and Fifteen Thousand United States Dollars ($115,000) by false pretense,” an act described as contrary to Section 321 of the Penal Code Act Abuja, Cap 532 LFN 2004, and punishable under Section 324 of the same Act.
When the charge was read, Igbo pleaded guilty, prompting EFCC counsel M.K. Hussain to request his conviction and sentencing.
Justice Abba-Aliyu sentenced Igbo to one year in prison but gave him the option of paying a fine of ₦1 million. She also ruled that funds recovered from Igbo—$16,110 in cash, $67,487.79 worth of cryptocurrency, and money in his bank account—should be used to restitute the victim through the American Embassy.
The case began when Baker, a resident of East Baton Rouge Parish in the United States, petitioned the EFCC, alleging that Igbo, under the guise of offering a cryptocurrency investment opportunity on Blockchain.com, had swindled him.
Oyewale further reassured the public of the agency’s commitment to combating cybercrime and ensuring justice for victims.
![Rev. Fr. Anthony Odiong, a US-based Nigerian Louisiana Catholic priest, was arrested in Florida on Tuesday for possessing child pornography, according to law authorities. The suspect is reportedly accused of many other cases of sexual assault. The Waco, Texas, Police Department announced in a Facebook post on Tuesday that officers detained Father Anthony Odiong in Ave Maria, Florida, with assistance from the United States Marshals Service. Waco police announced in March that they had received "credible information" about a sexual assault allegedly committed by Odiong in Texas in 2012. “During the subsequent investigation, a case of possession of child pornography was uncovered,” the police said. The priest was apprehended in Florida by the Caribbean Regional Fugitive Task Force. The Waco Police Department said that he will be extradited to Texas. Odiong had previously served in the Archdiocese of New Orleans before being removed as priest in December of last year due to controversy over homilies in which he claimed, among other things, that the Catholic Church was being taken over by "the gays." At the time, the priest was also accused of abusive behaviour; a Louisiana lady claimed in U.S. bankruptcy court that Odiong had committed both financial and sexual abuse against her. Prior to joining the New Orleans Archdiocese, Odiong served in at least two Texas parishes. On Tuesday, Waco police stated that during their sexual assault investigation, "the presence of other survivors was revealed." “Multiple women have come forward to tell similar experiences as the sexual assault survivor who reported the initial allegation,” the police department said. “Survivors’ experiences ranged from sexual assault and indecent assault, more commonly recognised as groping, and financial abuse, with some survivors experiencing every element of Anthony Odiong’s manipulation.” The police said they “believe there may be more survivors, and we wish to speak with anyone who [has] had similar encounters” with the priest. The Archdiocese of New Orleans issued a brief news release on Tuesday noting Odiong's arrest in Florida. The archdiocese “encourages anyone with any information to contact law enforcement,” the release said.](https://chronicle.ng/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/ezgif-6-4730550ede-450x300.jpg "Odiong: US-based Nigerian Catholic priest convicted over sexual assault")
