A dual UK and Nigerian citizen has been handed a seven-year prison sentence for engaging in a business email compromise (BEC) scheme which swindled more than $1.9 million from a North Carolina university and tried to extract over $3 million from several entities in Texas. This sentence was pronounced after Oludayo Kolawole John Adeagbo, 45, who also goes by the aliases John Edwards and John Dayo, was extradited from the UK in August 2022 to face the charges.
The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of North Carolina and Southern District of Texas provided information stating that Adeagbo pleaded guilty to one count each of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud on April 8. These charges stemmed from crimes that he was accused of in Houston and Charlotte, where his participation in the BEC schemes was uncovered. Following extradition from the United Kingdom, these charges were consolidated in the Western District of North Carolina for the sentencing phase.
"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," commented U.S. Attorney Dena J. King. She added, "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" according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
The schemes involved Adeagbo and others gaining unauthorized access to email accounts or creating email accounts that mimic those of individuals or employees associated with the targeted entities. They would then send fraudulent wiring instructions, tricking victims into sending money to accounts controlled by the criminal network. U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani described Adeagbo's operation as "hiding behind fake email accounts and anonymous internet addresses to steal from the innocent, a crime as old as time itself." In their relentless pursuit of justice, prosecutors and agents across two jurisdictions, they worked tirelessly to navigate international bureaucracy to secure Adeagbo's presence in a U.S. courtroom, as reported by the U.S. Department of Justice.
Executive Assistant Director Michael Nordwall of the FBI expressed on the case, "Oludayo Adeagbo thought he was pretty slick stealing other people’s money via this scam. His victims, however, strongly disagreed." Now, instead of reaping rewards from his illicit activities, Adeagbo faces federal imprisonment, as per the report from the U.S. Department of Justice.
