Three (3) Nigerians extradited to US to face email scam charges
John Adeagbo, 43 years old, Donald Echeazu, 40 years old, and Olabanji Egbinola, 42 years old, stand accused of multiple charges including wire fraud, identity theft, and money laundering.
The US Department of Justice (DoJ) says the cybercriminal campaign targeted universities and other organizations in North Carolina, Texas, and Virginia.
Identity Theft Aimed Towards A Multimillion-Dollar Project
Adeagbo and Echeazu are accused of using fake email addresses to pose as a construction companies.
However, Between 2016 and 2017, to defraud a university in North Carolina for just under $2 million.
The two allegedly persuaded the university to wire them the money after duping it into believing they were a legitimate contractor.
Adeagbo and Echeazu conspired with other individuals to obtain information about significant construction projects occurring throughout the United States.
This, however, includes an ongoing multimillion-dollar project at the victim university.
But, to execute the scheme, the defendants allegedly registered a domain name similar to that of the legitimate construction company in charge of the university’s project.
They then created an email address that closely resembled that of an employee of the construction company.
Multiple Alleged Victims
Egbinola is accused of employing just the same tactic in Virginia in 2018, hoodwinking a university there into wiring him close to $500,000.
And, after using a fraudulent email account that incorporated the name of a construction company that had a large, ongoing contract with the university.
The conspirators allegedly sent emails to clients or customers of the companies they impersonated and deceived those customers into sending wire payments to bank accounts they controlled.
Possible 20 Years Of Imprisonment
The three accused Nigerians face years in prison if found guilty, though no trial date has been set.
However, Wire fraud and money laundering each carry a maximum penalty of 20 years, and these terms can be imposed consecutively.
Consequently, Adeagbo, Egbinola, and Echeazu were arrested in the UK in 2020 after the FBI investigated the case, leading to an appeal being lodged with British authorities.
Although, An extradition order was processed the following year, which the three defendants attempted to appeal.
This was overturned by the UK High Court last month, leading to their eventual transfer to the US, to stand trial in the three states where they are accused of committing the crimes.
