A Federal High Court and a Rivers State High Court, both sitting in Port Harcourt, have convicted and sentenced three internet fraudsters to 90 months in prison for impersonation and obtaining money under false pretenses.

The convicts, Rex Akah Kinikachi Kelvin, Kennedy Chinedu Eleyi-Waltar, and Chris Orji, were arraigned by the Port Harcourt Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on one count of separate charges.

Kelvin was charged with obtaining $500 from his victim, Denise D. Moore, through his Telegram account, where he impersonated an American fashion model.
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he charge read, “That you, Rex Akah Kinikachi Kelvin, sometimes in February 2024, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, with intent to defraud, obtained the sum of $500 (Five Hundred United States Dollars) from your victim—Denise D. Moore—through your Telegram account under the guise of being an American fashion model from the United States of America, which pretext you knew to be false and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 1(2)(a) and punishable under Section 1(3) of the Advance Fee Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006.”

Justices P. I. Ajoku and S. D. Pam of the Federal High Court sentenced each defendant to 30 months imprisonment with an option of a N200,000 fine. The judges also ordered the forfeiture of several items recovered from the convicts, including: two Samsung mobile devices, one iPhone 7 Plus, one iPhone 6S Plus, one iPhone 14, one Samsung S10E, one iPhone XR, and one Toyota Highlander SUV.

The convicts were also ordered to depose to an affidavit of good behaviour before the court.

A statement by the EFCC’s Head of Media and Publicity on Wednesday disclosed that the convicts all pleaded guilty after the charges were read to them individually.

In view of the guilty pleas, the prosecution counsel, H. O. Nweze, N. A. Dodo, and M. Abubakar tendered some documents in evidence, which were admitted and marked as exhibits.

The prosecution counsels prayed the court to convict and sentence the defendants in line with their pleas.

Meanwhile, counsel for the defendants, Kyenge and Onuoha, did not oppose the prayers by the prosecution but prayed the court to temper justice with mercy, stating that the defendants, being first-time offenders, did not have any previous criminal records.

Justice Ajoku and Justice Pam convicted and sentenced all the defendants to thirty months imprisonment each in the Port Harcourt Correctional Centre with an option of a fine of N200,000 payable into the Consolidated Revenue Account of the Federal Government of Nigeria.

The judges also ordered that two Samsung mobile devices, a Toyota Highlander SUV, one iPhone 7 Plus, one iPhone 6S Plus, one iPhone 14, one Samsung S10E, and one iPhone XR recovered from the convicts at the scene of arrest be forfeited to the Federal Government of Nigeria.

They further ordered that the convicts also depose to an affidavit of good behaviour before the court.

The convicts started their journey to the Correctional Centre when they were arrested in a sting operation carried out by operatives of the EFCC sometime in March 2025 at various locations in Port Harcourt.

They were arrested for internet-related fraud and obtaining money under false pretence.