Nigerian Bags Seven Years Over US Fraud

A United States court has sentenced a Nigerian, Oludayo Adeagbo to seven years in prison over a multimillion-dollar business email compromise scheme.

This was disclosed by the US Department of Justice in a release from Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole Argentieri.

The defendant was involved in multiple cyber-enabled BEC schemes in an attempt to steal more than $3m from victim entities in Texas, according to Argentieri.

Court documents, according to DOJ, revealed that the 45-year-old also targeted local government entities, construction companies, and a Houston-area college.

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It added that Adeagbo, who also held a British passport, conspired with his accomplices to defraud a North Carolina university of more than $1.9m.

He arrived in the US in August 2022 after he was extradited from the United Kingdom to face criminal charges filed in Charlotte and Houston.

On April 8, the Nigerian man pleaded guilty to one count each of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud for his criminal conduct in both cases.

He pleaded guilty following the transfer of his case from the US District Court for the Southern District of Texas to the US District Court for the Western District of North Carolina.

“Oludayo Adeagbo and his coconspirators perpetrated transnational cyber-enabled fraud schemes that targeted schools, government entities, and companies across the United States, and caused millions of dollars in losses,” the DOJ said.

Meanwhile, his Nigerian conspirator, Donald Echeazu, 42, was extradited from the UK to the US, over the same fraud in which a North Carolina university (the University) lost more than $1.9 million via a BEC scheme.

On May 16, 2023, Echeazu was sentenced to 18 months in prison followed by a year of supervised release and was also ordered to pay $655,408.87 in restitution for his role in the conspiracy.