Justice Darius Khobo of the Kaduna State High Court, Kaduna, on Monday jailed one Jesse Joshua Kassah, for impersonating an American soldier named Devaun Smith Wayne, to defraud people.
In a statement, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) said its Kaduna Zonal Command prosecuted the convict.
The convict was sentenced to two years in a correctional centre after pleading guilty to one-count charge bordering on impersonation.
The lone count charge reads: “That you, Jesse Joshua Kassah (a.k.a Devaun Smith Wayne), (M) between January to October, 2023 at Kaduna within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, committed an offence, to wit; falsely presented yourself as Devaun Smith Wayne; a USA military personnel and ticket salesman on Facebook (an online social media application) to one Caitlin Morgan and which pretence you knew to be false and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 142(1) of the Kaduna State Penal Code Law, 2017”.
He pleaded guilty to the charge when it was read to him.
In view of his plea, prosecution counsel M. Arumemi urged the court to convict and sentence the defendant accordingly.
Justice Khobo thereafter convicted and sentenced Kassah to two years imprisonment with an option of N150, 000 fine.
The judge also ordered the forfeiture of Samsung Galaxy A02 phone which was used to commit the offence to the Federal Government of Nigeria.
The EFCC said Kassah’s journey to the correctional centre started when he was arrested at Karji area of Kaduna for internet-related offences.
The anti-graft commission revealed that its Investigations showed that the convict impersonated an American soldier, Devaun Smith Wayne and used his identity to defraud his victims in the process.