The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, (EFCC) Abuja Zonal Command, on Tuesday, September 19, 2023, secured the conviction of one Christopher Simon for impersonating famous American actor Channing Tatum.

Simon was sentenced by Justice N.E. Maha of the Federal High Court Maitama, Abuja.

According to the charge against Simon, it was learnt that sometime in 2022 he created an email account with Tatum’s name, used the actor’s photo as his profile picture and made use of the username ‘Channing Tatum’ while chatting with one ‘Mihaela’ and one ‘Bunnybear’ on the networking platform, Google Hangouts.

It stated that he did this with intent to gain monetary advantage for himself , and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 22 (3) (a) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc)Act, 2015 and punishable under Section 22 (4) of the same Act”.

After the charge was read to him, Simon pleaded guilty to the charge.

Following his plea, Justice Maha convicted and sentenced Simon to one-year imprisonment with an option of N200,000 fine.

The convict is also to depose an affidavit of good behaviour while the proceeds of his crime are to be forfeited to the Federal Government.

Tatum was born in Cullman, Alabama, United States of America.

The 43-year-old started his acting career in 2000 and has starred in several blockbuster films like G.I. Joe, The Rise of Cobra, White House Down, Foxcatcher, The Lost City amongst others.

He has won several awards and Time magazine named one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2022.
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