Two Nigerian fraudsters, Opeyemi Abidemi Adeoso, 46; and Benjamin Adeleke Ifebajo, 47; have been sentenced to a combined 22 and half years in the United States for e-mail scam.
They were arrested in DOJ’s Operation reWired by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and would spend 22 and half years in federal prison.
Acting U.S. Attorney, Chad E. Meacham, announced this, last Monday.
Adeoso pleaded guilty in June, 2020 to 17 counts of wire fraud, eight counts of money laundering, six counts of use of false passport, one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering.
He was sentenced last Thursday by Chief U.S. District Judge Barbara M.G. Lynn to 151 months in federal prison, and ordered to pay $9.3million in restitution.
His co-conspirator, Ifebajo, pleaded guilty in March, 2020 to seven counts of wire fraud, six counts of money laundering, four counts of use of a false passport, one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering.
He was sentenced in June to 120 months in federal prison, and ordered to pay $2.1million in restitution.
“These defendants utilized multiple tactics to deceive unsuspecting businesses out of their money. By assuming fictitious identities they defrauded dozens, which risks business health and in turn, erodes overall economic health,” FBI Dallas Special Agent in Charge, Matthew J. DeSarno said.
“Along with our federal law enforcement partners, we will continue to hold fraudsters accountable for their crimes and the harm they cause.”
Agents initiated an investigation into the pair in August, 2018, after receiving a report of a business email compromise scheme from a victim who had transferred more than $504,000 into a bank account registered to a “Daniel Sammy Campbell.”
Using the address associated with the account, they traced it back to Adeoso.
Agents then reviewed bank surveillance footage and traced funds to identify Adeoso and Ifebajo, Nigerian nationals in the U.S. on non-immigrant visas.
According to court documents, the defendants admitted they used fraudulent passports to open individual bank accounts under assumed names.
Other members of the conspiracy then sent phishing emails – which spoofed the email addresses of victims’ employers, supervisors, and other known business contacts – to numerous individuals prompting them to initiate wire transfers from their personal bank accounts or from their employer’s bank accounts.
Once the money hit the defendants’ accounts, they withdrew the money, often tens of thousands of dollars at a time, in cash, via cashiers’ checks, or through electronic transfer, then deposited the funds into other alias accounts.
Occasionally, they made purchases with the money.
Adeoso is believed to have used aliases including, but not limited to: Peter Kuffor, George Macharty, Nelson Johnson, Braheem Larke, Michael Albert, Michael Jaden Sean, Michael Jeff Brown, and Benjamin Zee Brown.
Ifebajo is believed to have used aliases including, but not limited to: Joseph Eric Johnson, Jeremiah Alex Malcom, Tidwell Anthony Wilson, and Andrew James Williams.
A third co-conspirator, Temitope Aminat Folorunsho, 35, pleaded guilty in July, 2020 to multiple counts of wire fraud, money laundering, use of false passport, and conspiracy and was sentenced in July, 2021 to 37 months in federal prison and ordered to pay roughly $221,000 in restitution.
Folorunsho used aliases Terri L. Brown, Michelle Angel Cole, Robyn L. Granell, and Deborah Kiki Philip.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Dallas Field Office, the U.S. Diplomatic Security Service, and Homeland Security Investigations’ Dallas Field Office conducted the investigation.
Assistant U.S. Attorney, Tiffany H. Eggers, prosecuted the case.