Raymond Imozemhe, a 22-year-old man, has been sentenced to three years in prison for pretending to be the renowned Hollywood star Tom Cruise. Alongside six others, Imozemhe was convicted for internet fraud by Justice Efe Ikponwonba of the Edo State High Court in Benin City, as announced by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in a statement on July 25, 2023.

The charge against Imozemhe reads: “That you, Raymond Imozemhe (m) sometime in 2023 at Ugbor Central GRA, Benin City, Edo State within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court with intent to defraud falsely represent yourself to be one Tom Cruise, Hollywood celebrity from the United States of America, in your Scrabble Game account and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 384(1) of the Criminal Law of Edo State Law, 2022.”

His co-defendants were Christian Okafor, Jimmy Emmanuel, Oritseweyinmi Allen Poto, Osapamwan Destiny Gaius, and David Oghneyerivwo Ighere.

All the defendants pleaded guilty to their respective charges, leading the prosecution counsel to request the court to convict and sentence them accordingly. Nevertheless, the defense counsel pleaded for leniency, emphasizing that the defendants were first-time offenders.

Justice Ikponmwonba eventually handed down the following sentences: Imozemhe, Okafor, and Emmanuel received three years in prison with an option of a N200,000 fine. Poto was sentenced to three years in prison or a fine of Three Hundred Thousand Naira, while Ighere received two years in prison with an option of a N200,000 fine.

Additionally, the judge ordered the forfeiture of several assets, including a Mercedes Benz GLK 350, Lexus ES 350, one black Toyota Camry, mobile phones, and a UBA draft of N960,000, which were found to be proceeds of their criminal activities, to the Federal Government of Nigeria. The defendants were also required to provide a written undertaking to exhibit good behavior after serving their sentences.

Interestingly, this incident is not the first time a Nigerian internet fraudster has impersonated the famous actor. A similar case involving Etegene Japheth was reported on March 30, 2022, where Japheth was sentenced to six months in prison for possession of documents containing false pretense, following arrest by the Lagos Zonal Command of the EFCC in a court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos.

The charge read: “Etegene Japheth (aka Mr. Tim Graw and Tom Cruise), on or about the 16th day of February 2022 in Lagos, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, had in your possession several documents containing false pretences, one of which is a record of your conversation with several unsuspecting victims via your email address tomcruise3705@gmail.com, wherein you represented yourself as Mr. Tim Graw and Tom Cruise in order to obtain gift cards and money from them, a representation you knew was false.”

He pleaded “guilty” to the charge when it was read to him.