Nigerian Man Pleads Guilty to Real Estate Phishing / Spoofing Scheme

A Nigerian man pleaded guilty today to conning prospective homeowners and others out of down payments using a "man-in-the-middle" email phishing and spoofing attack, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Leigha Simonton.

Kolade Akinwale Ojelade, a 34-year-old Nigerian national living abroad in Leicester, was indicted in February 2023. He was extradited from the U.K. to the U.S. in April 2024 and pleaded guilty Wednesday to wire fraud affecting a financial institution and aggravated identity theft.

"Unfortunately, sophisticated phishing and spoofing attacks can ensnare even the most tech-savvy among us. They can be disastrous for companies and absolutely calamitous for individuals," said U.S. Attorney Leigha Simonton. "We look forward to holding this defendant accountable for the financial devastation he has wrought. In the meantime, I urge the public to follow CFPB's best practices for wiring down payments."

"Mr. Ojelade orchestrated the theft of funds from unsuspecting homeowners and real estate companies who believed they were legitimately wiring money to a trusted party," said FBI Dallas Special Agent in Charge Chad Yarbrough. "The FBI successfully worked with our foreign partners to ensure he is held accountable by the U.S. judicial system."

According to court documents, Mr. Ojelade sent phishing emails to real estate businesses, gained unauthorized access to many of their accounts, and monitored their email traffic to determine when large transactions were about to take place. He then intercepted wire payment instructions, changed the information, and resent the emails via spoofed email addresses that mimicked the original senders' addresses.

Unbeknownst to the victims - including prospective homeowners wiring money to real estate companies and real estate companies wiring money to title companies - the modified wiring instructions directed them to accounts controlled by Mr. Ojelade and his co-conspirators. Once the funds hit the accounts, Mr. Ojelade and his coconspirators withdrew the money or transferred it into other bank accounts.

Mr. Ojelade now faces up to 32 years in federal prison. After serving his sentence, he will be subject to deportation.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation's Dallas Field Office conducted the investigation, with substantial assistance from FBI International Operations at Mission U.K., United Kingdom authorities, and the U.S. Marshals Service. The Justice Department's Office of International Affairs provided substantial assistance in securing the arrest and extradition of Mr. Ojelade from the United Kingdom. Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Weybrecht is prosecuting the case.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau advises prospective homeowners to confirm wiring instructions - including account numbers - in person or by phone, and instructs anyone who believes they may have fallen victim to a scam to call their banks as soon as possible to ask for a wire recall.