Previously extradited Nigerian national sent to prison for role in multimillion-dollar business email compromise scheme

Press Release

The scheme targeted educational institutions and businesses in Texas and North Carolina

HOUSTON - A 45-year-old dual citizen of Nigeria and the United Kingdom has been ordered to federal prison following his conviction in a wire fraud conspiracy involving two districts, announced U.S. Attorneys Alamdar S. Hamdani and Dena J. King for the Southern District of Texas (SDTX) and Western District of North Carolina (WDNC), respectively.

Oludayo Kolawole John Adeagbo aka John Edwards and John Dayo arrived in the United States in August 2022 following his extradition from the United Kingdom to face criminal charges filed in SDTX and WDNC. He pleaded guilty April 8 for his criminal conduct in both cases.

U.S. District Judge Kenneth Bell of the Western District of North Carolina has now ordered Adeagbo to serve a total of 84 months in federal prison to be immediately followed by one year of supervised release. The court also ordered him to pay $942,655.03 in restitution to the victims.

"Adeagbo ran a sophisticated 21st century cyber-criminal operation hiding behind fake email accounts and anonymous internet addresses to steal from the innocent, a crime as old as time itself," said Hamdani. "Business Email Compromise (BEC) scams have become an epidemic with individuals and businesses suffering debilitating financial losses, while eroding society's trust in digital communications and undermining overall economic stability. That's why prosecutors and agents in two jurisdictions worked tirelessly to identify Adeagbo and reach across the Atlantic to bring him to justice."

"BEC schemes, like the one perpetrated by Adeagbo and his co-conspirators, are sophisticated and devastating crimes that target the trust businesses and institutions place in their daily operations," said King. "By exploiting this trust, fraudsters steal millions of dollars from unsuspecting victims. This case demonstrates the commitment of my office and our law enforcement partners to pursue justice for those impacted by these schemes and to hold cybercriminals accountable, regardless of where they are operating from."

"Oludayo Adeagbo thought he was pretty slick stealing other people's money via this scam. His victims, however, strongly disagreed," said FBI Executive Assistant Director Michael Nordwall. "Instead of enjoying the fruits of his illegal labors, Adeagbo will now be spending time in a federal prison. The BEC is one of the fastest growing and most costly scams and the only way to fight it is through cooperation, often international cooperation, and this case is a prime example of partnerships working."

A BEC scheme, also referred to as "cyber-enabled financial fraud," is a sophisticated scam that often targets individuals, employees or businesses involved in financial transactions or that regularly perform wire transfer payments. Fraudsters are usually part of larger criminal networks operating in the United States and abroad.

There are many variations of BEC scams. Generally, the schemes involve perpetrators gaining unauthorized access to legitimate email accounts or creating email accounts that closely resemble those of individuals or employees associated with the targeted businesses or involved in business transactions with the victim businesses. The scammers then use the compromised or fake email accounts to send false wiring instructions to the targeted businesses or individuals, to dupe the victims into sending money to bank accounts controlled by perpetrators of the scheme. Generally, the money is quickly transferred to other accounts in the United States or overseas.

The Texas BEC Scheme

From November 2016 until July 2018, Adeagbo conspired with others to participate in multiple cyber-enabled business email compromises in an attempt to steal more than $3 million from victim entities in Texas, including local government entities, construction companies and a Houston-area college. Adeagbo and his co-conspirators registered domain names that looked similar to legitimate companies. They then sent emails from those domains pretending to be employees at those companies to clients or customers of the companies they impersonated and deceived those customers into sending wire payments to bank accounts the co-conspirators controlled.

The North Carolina BEC Scheme

From Aug. 30, 2016, to Jan. 12, 2017, Adeagbo and others defrauded a North Carolina university of more than $1.9 million via a BEC scheme. Adeagbo and his co-conspirators obtained information about significant construction projects occurring throughout the United States, including an ongoing multimillion-dollar project at the victim university. To execute the scheme, Adeagbo and others registered a domain name similar to that of the legitimate construction company in charge of the university's project and created an email address that closely resembled that of an employee of the construction company. Using the fake email address, the fraudsters deceived and directed the university to wire a payment of more than $1.9 million to a bank account someone working under the direction of Adeagbo and his co-conspirators controlled. Upon receiving the payment, Adeagbo and his co-conspirators laundered the stolen proceeds through a series of financial transactions designed to conceal the fraud.

Co-conspirator Donald Ikenna Echeazu, 42, a dual citizen of Nigeria and the United Kingdom extradited to the United States, was previously sentenced to 18 months in prison followed by a year of supervised release and was ordered to pay $655,408.87 in restitution for his role in the conspiracy.

Adeagbo will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.

The FBI's Houston Cyber Task Force and Charlotte Field Office conducted the investigation with assistance of the FBI's Cyber and Criminal Investigative Divisions. The United Kingdom's National Crime Agency, Metropolitan Police Service, City of London Police and Crown Prosecution Service also provided substantial assistance. The Department of Justice's Office of International Affairs helped secure the arrest and extradition.

SDTX Assistant U.S. Attorney (AUSA) Rodolfo Ramirez prosecuted the case along with WDNC AUSA Graham Billings and Trial Attorney Brian Mund of the Justice Department's Criminal Division Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section.

If you suspect you are a victim of a BEC scheme, you can file a complaint online with the FBI's Internet Complaint Crime Complaint Cetner (IC3) at bec.ic3.gov. The IC3 staff reviews complaints to detect patterns or other indicators of significant criminal activity for potential criminal prosecution. The FBI provides a variety of resources relating to BEC scams through the IC3, which can be located at www.ic3.gov. For more information on BEC scams, visit: https://www.fbi.gov/scams-and-safety/common-scams-and-crimes/business-email-compromise.

Updated October 1, 2024