The Plateau State High Court sitting in Jos on Wednesday sentenced three Nigerian internet fraudsters for Facebook scam.
Justice C. L. Dabup sentenced Nbubuisi Kerian Ozomba, Paul Obide and Samuel Chukwuebuka Nduchukwe to one month imprisonment for obtaining money by false pretence.
The suspects were arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in a sting operation.
According to the charges, Ozomba created a Facebook account with the name James Hicks with a profile picture of an American military officer and obtained the sum of $350 from Mary Lovely, a Filipino.
Another of the suspects, Obide (alias Javier Espinal) also posed as a military officer from Spain and obtained $2,000 from another Filipino, Lovina.
The EFCC said Obide claimed that the money was for treatment of his sick daughter.
Similarly, Nduchukwe created a Facebook account with the name Alpha Benedict and portrayed himself as a United States Army officer serving in Afghanistan and used the fake identity to defraud Christy Serue from the Philippines of $510.
The suspects pleaded “guilty” to the charges preferred against them.
EFCC counsel, S. N. Robert urged the court to convict and sentence them in accordance with the plea bargain they voluntarily entered with the commission.
The court consequently sentenced them to a month in prison with an option of a fine of N150,000 naira each.
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