A Nigerian national, Oludayo Adeagbo, has been sentenced to seven years in prison in the United States for his role in a multimillion-dollar business email compromise (BEC) scheme.
This was revealed by the U.S. Department of Justice in a statement from Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole Argentieri. According to Argentieri, Adeagbo was involved in multiple cyber-enabled BEC schemes, attempting to steal over $3 million from victims in Texas.
Court documents indicate that the 45-year-old targeted local government entities, construction companies, and a college in the Houston area. He also conspired with accomplices to defraud a university in North Carolina of more than $1.9 million.
Adeagbo, who holds a British passport, was extradited from the United Kingdom to the U.S. in August 2022 to face charges filed in Charlotte and Houston. On April 8, he pleaded guilty to one count each of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
His case was transferred from the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas to the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina, where he pleaded guilty. The DOJ stated, “Oludayo Adeagbo and his coconspirators orchestrated transnational cyber-enabled fraud schemes targeting schools, government entities, and companies across the U.S., causing millions in losses.”
In a related case, Adeagbo’s Nigerian accomplice, Donald Echeazu, 42, was also extradited from the UK to the U.S. for his involvement in the same fraud scheme that defrauded a North Carolina university of over $1.9 million. Echeazu was sentenced on May 16, 2023, to 18 months in prison, followed by a year of supervised release. He was also ordered to pay $655,408.87 in restitution.