NIGERIAN NATIONAL SENTENCED TO 30 MONTHS IN FEDERAL PRISON FOR MOVING PROCEEDS FROM BUSINESS EMAIL COMPROMISE SCHEME

HOUSTON — A Nigerian national living in Houston has been sentenced to 30 months in federal prison for his role in moving proceeds from a business email compromise scheme that targeted more than 10 victims and redirected large commercial payments into accounts controlled by fraudsters.

Edikan Adiakpan, 35, pleaded guilty on May 12 and was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen to 30 months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release.

At the time of his arrest, Adiakpan had temporary legal status in the United States and was originally from Nigeria.

According to federal prosecutors, Adiakpan used a company he controlled, Akama Lifestyle, to transfer money for others between 2020 and 2022. The business was advertised as a luxury car service, but prosecutors said it was also used to receive and move proceeds generated through fraudulent electronic communications.

Adiakpan kept a percentage of the transferred funds as a fee.

The money originated from a business email compromise operation, a form of financial fraud in which criminals impersonate trusted companies, suppliers, executives or creditors through deceptive email messages in order to redirect legitimate payments.

In this case, prosecutors said fraudsters sent spoofed emails that appeared to come from known suppliers and creditors. Victims were instructed to send payments to bank accounts controlled by the fraudsters instead of the businesses that were actually owed the money.

The scheme affected more than 10 victims.

One of the most significant losses involved a small utility trailer company in Mississippi.

According to prosecutors, the company believed it was wiring money to its legitimate trailer supplier and ultimately sent $927,080 to accounts controlled by Houston-area fraudsters.

Portions of those proceeds were then transferred to Adiakpan.

Federal authorities said Adiakpan deposited and redeemed several cashier’s checks payable to himself and to his exotic-car company. Those checks contained approximately $359,000 traceable to the Mississippi victim’s stolen funds.

A victim-impact statement from the trailer company was read during the sentencing hearing and described the financial damage caused when the company sent what it believed was a legitimate payment to a trusted supplier but instead transferred the money into the fraud operation.

Business email compromise schemes can be particularly damaging because they exploit existing commercial relationships rather than relying on obviously suspicious solicitations. A fraudulent message can closely resemble legitimate correspondence involving invoices, payment instructions or supplier accounts, causing employees to transfer significant sums before the deception is discovered.

Once money is sent, fraud networks frequently move the proceeds quickly through additional bank accounts, cashier’s checks, businesses or other financial channels in an effort to make recovery more difficult.

Adiakpan’s role involved handling and transmitting portions of those proceeds after the initial fraudulent transfers had occurred.

The case also involved another Nigerian national, Ayobami Omoniyi, 27, who was sentenced on March 24 to 32 months in federal prison for his role in the same scheme.

The separate sentences show that federal investigators pursued multiple participants connected to the scheme, including individuals involved in handling proceeds after victims had been defrauded.

The FBI Houston Field Office, including its Bryan Resident Agency, investigated the case alongside IRS Criminal Investigation.

The involvement of IRS Criminal Investigation reflects the financial-tracing component of the case. Following the movement of fraud proceeds through bank accounts, cashier’s checks and business entities can be central to identifying who handled the money and how much each participant received or transferred.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Belinda Beek prosecuted the case for the Southern District of Texas.

Adiakpan has now been convicted through his guilty plea and sentenced. He will serve 30 months in federal prison before beginning three years of supervised release.

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