United States (US) District Judge Andrew Hanen on Thursday, October 8, sentenced 35-year-old Nigerian Edikan Adiakpan, to two years and six months in federal prison for his role in an email fraud scheme involving $927,080.
Adiakpan, was also ordered to serve three years of supervised release after completing his prison sentence.
According to the US authorities, Adiakpan pleaded guilty on Tuesday, May 12, to illegally transmitting proceeds from the fraud scheme, which operated between 2020 and 2022.
During that period, he used a company he controlled, Akama Lifestyle, which he advertised as a luxury car service, to move money on behalf of fraudsters in exchange for a percentage of the funds transferred.
Investigators said the money originated from a business email compromise scheme in which fraudsters impersonated legitimate suppliers and creditors through spoofed emails.
The emails deceived victims into sending payments to bank accounts controlled by the criminals instead of paying their actual suppliers.
For all breaking news and latest gist:
👉 JOIN GISTSMATE WHATSAPP CHANNELOne of the victims was a small utility trailer company in Mississippi that transferred $927,080 to the fraudsters after believing the payment was intended for its supplier.
According to evidence presented at his sentencing, Adiakpan subsequently deposited and cashed several cashier’s checks made payable to himself and his exotic car company, containing $359,000 of the victim’s money.
The company submitted a victim impact statement describing the consequences of the fraud on its business.
Another Nigerian, 27-year-old Ayobami Omoniyi, was sentenced on March 24 to 32 months in federal prison for his involvement in the same scheme.
The investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) Houston office and its Bryan resident agency, alongside the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) division.
Assistant US attorney Belinda Beek prosecuted the case.
According to US authorities, Adiakpan had temporary legal status to reside in the US at the time of his arrest.
WARNING: If You Are Not 18+, Don’t Click The Link Below 👇🫣
Did you want to monetize your website, join MONETAG or ADSKEEPER and start earning
Please don’t forget to “Allow the notification” so you will be the first to get our gist when we publish it.
Drop your comment in the section below, and don’t forget to share the post.
Never Miss A Single News Or Gist, Kindly Join Us On WhatsApp Channel:
https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vad8g81Eawdsio6INn3B
Telegram Channel:
https://t.me/gistsmateNG