A Nigerian man, Edikan Adiakpan, 33, has been arrested in the United States (US) for allegedly playing a key role in a large-scale business email compromise and money laundering scheme that affected organisations across eight American states.
One of the affected victims includes a California-based medical research group focused on developing treatments for US military veterans.
According to a press release posted on the US Department of Justice’s website on Thursday, Adiakpan was arrested and is expected to appear before Magistrate Judge Peter Bray in Houston for his initial court appearance.
The arrest was announced by the US Attorney for the Eastern District of Texas, Nicholas J. Ganjei.
Adiakpan is facing a three-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury on June 11, charging him with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and operating an unlicensed money transmission business.
According to the Department of Justice, Adiakpan and his co-conspirators carried out the fraud in 2021 by sending spoofed emails that impersonated legitimate vendors.
“They were allegedly tricked into sending payments to bank accounts the fraudsters controlled instead of the actual suppliers,” the statement read.
“The charges further allege the conspirators laundered the funds by quickly transferring the money between multiple bank accounts they controlled. They then allegedly converted the funds into cashier’s checks. Adiakpan allegedly cashed the checks and kept a percentage as a fee,” it added.
Another Nigerian, 26-year-old Ayobami Omoniyi, had earlier been charged in connection with the same scheme. He is currently awaiting sentencing before U.S. District Judge Andrew S. Hanen.
“If convicted, Adiakpan faces up to 20 years in federal prison on the conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy charges and up to five years for the illegal money transmitting,” the statement noted. “Each conviction carries a possible $250,000 maximum fine.”
The FBI’s Houston field office, its Bryan Resident Agency, and the IRS Criminal Investigation unit conducted the investigation.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Belinda Beek and Christine Lu.
