Benjamin Tanko, a former police officer, was sentenced to four years in prison for fraud by an Upper Area Court in Zuba, Abuja, on Friday.
Tanko, who lives on Aco/Amac Estate Airport Road in Abuja, pleaded guilty to two counts of criminal breach of trust and cheating.
Prior to his sentencing, the convict begged the court for mercy.
The Judge, Ismail Abdullahi, on the other hand, gave the convict the option of paying a N50,000 fine and warned him to stop committing crimes.
Furthermore, Abdullahi stated that the punishment would have been harsher if he had not pleaded guilty, as the guilty plea saved the court the trouble of a lengthy prosecution.
Abdullahi also ordered the convict to pay the complainant N1.2 million in compensation.
The Prosecutor, Chinedu Ogada, previously told the court that the complainant, Austin Uchenna of Mararaba, Nasarawa State, reported the case on September 24 at the Iddo Police Station in Abuja.
According to Ogada, the complainant claimed that the convict pretended to be the caretaker of a house in Aco Estate, Lugbe, Abuja.
He claimed that the convict fraudulently rented the complainant a two-bedroom apartment in the estate for two years and collected N1.2 million from him.
Ogada went on to say that the convict converted the money to his personal use and fled to an unknown location.
The prosecutor also told the court that the convict was tracked down and arrested in Taraba during a police investigation, and he made a confessional statement.
He claimed that the offense violated Sections 312 and 322 of the Penal Code.