Oludayo Adeagbo, a 45-year-old British-Nigerian, was found guilty of participating in a multimillion-dollar business email compromise (BEC) fraud and was sentenced to seven years in prison in the United States.
According to court records, Adeagbo planned to participate in several cyber-enabled BEC schemes, trying to steal more than $3 million from a number of Texas organizations, including local governments, construction companies, and a college near Houston, according to a statement released by the U.S. Department of Justice.
Adeagbo and his associates are also charged with cheating a North Carolina institution out of over $1.9 million.
He was allegedly extradited from the United Kingdom to face criminal accusations brought in Charlotte and Houston, and he landed in the United States in August 2022.
On August 8, the Justice Department declared that Adeagbo had entered a guilty plea to one count of wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Following the case’s relocation from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas to the United States District Court for the Western District of North Carolina, this plea was entered.
Nicole Argentieri, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, said that Oludayo Adeagbo and his accomplices “executed transnational cyber-enabled fraud schemes targeting schools, government entities, and businesses across the United States, resulting in millions of dollars in losses.”
“Our dedication to working with law enforcement to pursue cybercriminals who prey on American victims, wherever they may be, is demonstrated by Adeagbo’s extradition, plea, and sentencing. We are especially appreciative of the UK’s cooperation in this matter.
Adeagbo “operated a sophisticated 21st-century cyber-criminal enterprise, using fake email accounts and anonymous internet addresses to exploit innocent victims—a crime as old as time,” according to Alamdar S. Hamdani, attorney for the Southern District of Texas.
“BEC scams have spread like wildfire, resulting in substantial financial losses for both individuals and companies, undermining confidence in digital communications, and endangering the stability of the economy as a whole,” continued Hamdani.
“For this reason, in order to ensure that Adeagbo received justice, prosecutors and agents in two countries worked nonstop to identify him and reach across the Atlantic.”
BEC METHODS
BEC schemes, often referred to as cyber-enabled financial fraud, are sophisticated frauds that usually target customers, staff members, or businesses that deal in money, especially those who send wire transfers on a regular basis.
These scams can take many different forms, but they usually entail hackers getting illegal access to legitimate email accounts or creating accounts that closely resemble those of people or staff members connected to the targeted companies.
The con artists then use the hacked or fictitious email addresses to send false wire instructions to the companies or people they have targeted, tricking the victims into sending money to bank accounts under their ownership.
Usually, the funds are transferred quickly to other accounts in the US or abroad.
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