British-Nigerian Sentenced to 7 Years for $5M Business Email Scam.
Oludayo Adeagbo, a British-Nigerian national also known as John Edwards and John Dayo, has been sentenced to seven years in prison for his role in orchestrating a multimillion-dollar business email compromise (BEC) scheme. The fraud, which resulted in losses exceeding $5 million, involved a complex cyber-enabled financial scam targeting institutions and businesses across the United States.
Oludayo Adeagbo, along with his accomplices Donald Echeazu and Olabanji Egbinola, used sophisticated techniques to impersonate reputable companies, particularly in high-value construction projects, to deceive organizations into transferring substantial sums of money to fraudulent accounts. The trio was extradited from the United Kingdom in August 2022 to face charges of conspiracy, wire fraud, and money laundering. Their criminal activities spanned multiple states, including North Carolina, Texas, and Virginia.
The Scheme: A $5 Million Fraud Operation
The BEC scheme primarily targeted educational institutions and construction projects, with the most notable fraud occurring at a university in North Carolina. Court documents reveal that Oludayo Adeagbo and his team registered a domain name nearly identical to that of the legitimate construction company overseeing the university project. They then created a fraudulent email account designed to resemble a company employee's address, which was used to trick university officials into transferring $1.9 million into a bank account controlled by the criminals.
The fraudulent operation did not stop there. Oludayo Adeagbo and his co-conspirators extended their tactics to Texas, where they targeted local government agencies and educational institutions, impersonating construction firms to siphon off an additional $3 million. In total, their criminal activities accumulated over $5 million in stolen funds.
Guilty Plea and Sentencing
On April 8, 2024, Oludayo Adeagbo pleaded guilty to the charges of conspiracy, wire fraud, and money laundering related to the frauds in both North Carolina and Texas. In addition to his seven-year prison sentence, Adeagbo was ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $942,655.03, compensating victims of the fraud scheme.
The U.S. Department of Justice highlighted that this case is part of a broader effort to combat the growing threat of business email compromise and other cyber-enabled financial crimes. BEC scams have become increasingly prevalent, with perpetrators exploiting technology and social engineering tactics to steal millions from businesses, government agencies, and educational institutions.
A Growing Threat of Business Email Compromise
Business Email Compromise (BEC) is a growing form of cybercrime where criminals impersonate trusted entities, such as contractors, vendors, or executives, to deceive companies into making fraudulent wire transfers. These schemes typically involve the creation of counterfeit email addresses and domain names that closely resemble those of legitimate businesses. The criminals then use these fraudulent communications to manipulate victims into transferring money to accounts they control. As the digital landscape evolves, these types of scams have become more sophisticated, posing significant financial risks to organizations of all sizes.
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