Previously Extradited Foreign National Sentenced for Role in Multimillion-Dollar Business Email Compromise Schemes Targeting Educational Institutions and Businesses in Texas and North Carolina

A dual citizen of Nigeria and the United Kingdom was sentenced yesterday to seven years in prison for his role in a multimillion-dollar business email compromise (BEC) scheme.

According to court documents, Oludayo Kolawole John Adeagbo, 45, conspired with others to participate in multiple cyber-enabled BEC schemes 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 conspirators also defrauded a North Carolina university of more than $1.9 million.

Adeagbo, also known as John Edwards and John Dayo, arrived in the United States in August 2022 after he was extradited from the United Kingdom to face criminal charges filed in Charlotte and in Houston. On April 8, Adeagbo pleaded guilty to one count each of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud for his criminal conduct in both cases, following the transfer of the case in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas to the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina.

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 North Carolina BEC Scheme

According to court documents and court proceedings, from Aug. 30, 2016, to Jan. 12, 2017, Adeagbo, his codefendant, Donald Ikenna Echeazu, 42, a dual citizen of Nigeria and the United Kingdom extradited to the United States, and others defrauded a North Carolina university (the University) of more than $1.9 million via a BEC scheme.

Court records show that Adeagbo and his co-conspirators obtained information about significant construction projects occurring throughout the United States, including an ongoing multi-million-dollar project at the victim University. To execute the scheme, Adeagbo, Echeazu, 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 controlled by an individual working under the direction of Adeagbo and his co-conspirators. Upon receiving the payment, Adeagbo and his co-conspirators laundered the stolen proceeds through a series of financial transactions designed to conceal the fraud.

The Texas BEC Scheme

According to information contained in court documents, from November 2016 until July 2018, Adeagbo conspired with others to participate in multiple cyber-enabled BECs 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. As with the scheme in North Carolina, 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.

Adeagbo remains in federal custody. He will be transferred to the custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons upon designation of a federal facility.

On May 16, 2023, Echeazu was 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. 

As part of his sentence yesterday, Adeagbo was sentenced to one year of supervised release following his sentence of incarceration and ordered to pay $942,655.03 in restitution for his role in the schemes.

“Oludayo Adeagbo and his coconspirators perpetrated transnational cyber-enabled fraud schemes that targeted schools, government entities, and companies across the United States, and caused millions of dollars in losses,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Adeagbo’s extradition, plea, and sentencing underscore the Criminal Division’s commitment to working with our law enforcement partners to pursue cybercriminals who target American victims, no matter where that pursuit leads. We are especially grateful to the Government of the United Kingdom for its assistance in this case.”

“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 U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani for the Southern District of Texas. “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 ones 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 U.S. Attorney Dena J. King for the Western District of North Carolina. “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 Executive Assistant Director Michael Nordwall of the FBI. “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.”

“Mr. Adeagbo’s multimillion-dollar BEC scheme inflicted substantial financial damage on trusted educational institutions, government municipalities, and innocent businesses within our community,” said Special Agent in Charge Douglas Williams of the FBI Houston Field Office. “In a world increasingly reliant on the digital landscape, yesterday’s sentencing serves as a powerful reminder that cybercrime has real consequences. FBI Houston will continue to investigate, attribute, and impose severe consequences on cyber criminals seeking to harm others through deceit and fraud.”

“As a North Carolina University planned for growth with a new construction project, Adeagbo worked on a scheme to defraud the school by stealing nearly two million dollars of its funding,” said Special Agent in Charge Robert M. DeWitt of the FBI Charlotte Field Office. “When he and his conspirators first committed this BEC more than seven years ago, they likely never expected to get caught. This federal prison sentence shows the FBI will do everything possible to find and hold international financial fraudsters accountable.”

The FBI’s Houston Cyber Task Force and Charlotte Field Office investigated the case with assistance from 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 Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs helped secure the arrest and extradition.

Trial Attorney Brian Mund of the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section, Assistant U.S. Attorney Rodolfo Ramirez for the Southern District of Texas, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Graham Billings for the Western District of North Carolina prosecuted the case.

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 Center (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 www.fbi.gov/scams-and-safety/common-scams-and-crimes/business-email-compromise.

Department of Justice
Office of Public Affairs

Source: Justice.gov