Edikan Adiakpan arrested in US over multimillion-dollar email fraud

Michael Adesina

A Nigerian national, Edikan Adiakpan, 33, has been arrested in Houston, Texas, over his alleged role in a large-scale business email compromise and money laundering scheme that targeted companies across at least eight states in the United States.

The arrest was announced on Thursday by the U.S. Attorney, Nicholas J. Ganjei.

Adiakpan appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Peter Bray on Thursday following a three-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury on June 11. He faces charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and conspiracy to transmit illegal funds.

According to the indictment, Adiakpan and others were involved in a scheme in 2021 that defrauded companies by sending fake emails that appeared to be from legitimate vendors or business partners. The victims, including a California-based research group working on treatments for U.S. veterans, were deceived into transferring funds to bank accounts controlled by the conspirators.

The funds were allegedly laundered through several accounts and eventually converted into cashier’s cheques, which Adiakpan reportedly cashed, keeping a portion as his commission.

Another Nigerian, Ayobami Omoniyi, 26, has also been indicted in connection with the scheme and is currently awaiting sentencing.

If convicted, Adiakpan faces up to 20 years in prison for each count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering, and up to five years for conspiracy to transmit illegal funds. Each count also carries a maximum fine of $250,000.

The case is being investigated by the FBI Houston Division and IRS Criminal Investigation. Prosecution is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Belinda Beek and Christine Lu.