Kaduna, Nigeria — Justice Amina Bello of the Kaduna State High Court has convicted and sentenced one Zeal Abraham to two years imprisonment for defrauding an American citizen through online impersonation.
Abraham, who also goes by the alias Chris Mitchell, was arraigned before the court by the Kaduna Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on a one-count charge of impersonation and cheating to the tune of $200.
According to the EFCC, Abraham, in 2025, posed as a musician named Chris Mitchell on the social media platform Zangi, through which he lured and deceived an unsuspecting victim, Laura Moss, into parting with the said sum of money. Investigations revealed that he knowingly misrepresented his identity with the intent to defraud.
The charge read in part:
“That you, Zeal Abraham (a.k.a Chris Mitchell), sometime in 2025 at Kaduna, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, cheated one Laura Moss of the total sum of $200 USD when you pretended to be Chris Mitchell, a musician on ‘Zangi’, which you knew to be false. You thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 308 of the Kaduna Penal Code Law of 2017 and punishable under Section 309 of the same law.”
Upon arraignment, Abraham pleaded guilty to the charge. In view of his plea, prosecution counsel M.E. Eimonye urged the court to convict and sentence him accordingly.
Justice Bello subsequently found him guilty and sentenced him to two years in prison, with an option of a ₦400,000 fine. Additionally, the court ordered the forfeiture of his Samsung G9355 mobile phone — used in committing the crime — as well as the $200 he fraudulently obtained, to the Federal Government.
Abraham was among a group of suspected internet fraudsters arrested by EFCC operatives in the Sabo area of Kaduna, specifically along Post Office Road, following actionable intelligence that exposed their illicit online activities.
The EFCC reaffirmed its commitment to combating cybercrime and urged members of the public to be vigilant against online scams and impersonators.
