A Nigerian man, Ridwan Adeleke Adepoju, was sentenced this week to three and a half years in a federal prison for his role in perpetrating several cyber fraud schemes against U.S. citizens and businesses. According to a press release from the United States Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Illinois, Adepoju's operations included phishing and romance scams, along with the submission of fraudulent tax returns.
Adepoju, 33, hails from Lagos, Nigeria, and was apprehended last year in the United Kingdom before being extradited to the United States. In the March, he entered a guilty plea on charges of federal wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ann Marie E. Ursini highlighted the prolonged and complex nature of Adepoju's criminal activities in the government's sentencing memorandum, stating, "Defendant chose to be a willing participant in the scheme over and over again."
The cybercriminal's actions ensnared numerous victims, spanning from individuals to companies, particularly in the Chicago area. The schemes he employed exploited spoofed email addresses and fictional social media personas, and at times involved the unintentional assistance of money mules. These victims were drawn into a deceitful web spun with technical guile and malicious intent.
U.S. District Judge Matthew F. Kennelly handed down the 43-month prison sentence on Tuesday, with the announcement coming through various officials including United States Attorney Andrew S. Boutros, IRS Criminal Investigation's Ramsey E. Covington, and the FBI's Douglas S. DePodesta. The concerted efforts of these law enforcement bodies underscore the seriousness with which cyber fraud is pursued when it targets U.S. citizens and businesses. Despite the geographical distances, justice has secured an anchor in these transnational cases, delivering a measure of relief to the affected parties.
