A Nigerian national, Edikan Adiakpan, has been arrested by the United States government over his alleged involvement in a large-scale business email compromise (BEC) scheme and money laundering operation.
According to a statement released by the U.S. Department of Justice on Thursday, a federal grand jury in Houston indicted the 33-year-old on June 11. He is facing charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to launder money, and illegal money transmission.
U.S. Attorney Nicholas Ganjei said the indictment alleges that in 2021, Adiakpan and his co-conspirators carried out a sophisticated BEC scheme that targeted businesses in at least eight U.S. states.
One of the victims included a California-based research group developing treatments for military veterans.
The group allegedly impersonated legitimate suppliers and creditors via fake emails to deceive victims into transferring payments to accounts under their control, rather than to the intended recipients.
The indictment further claims that the suspects laundered the stolen funds by rapidly moving the money through several bank accounts they controlled.
They allegedly converted the funds into cashier’s checks, which Adiakpan reportedly cashed, keeping a portion as his cut.
If convicted, Adiakpan faces up to 20 years in federal prison for the fraud and money laundering charges, and up to five years for illegal money transmitting. Each count also carries a maximum fine of $250,000.