Three Nigerians extradited to United State over Internet fraud

Three Nigerians have been extradited from the United Kingdom to the United States for multimillion-dollar cybercrime that resulted in losses of more than $5 million.

Oludayo John Adeagbo, 43, Donald Ikenna Echeazu, 40, and Olabanji Egbinola, 42, were the defendants.

The defendants and their co-conspirators allegedly preyed on unsuspecting victims, including universities in North Carolina, Texas, and Virginia.

Adaegbo and Echeazu have been charged with wire fraud conspiracy, money laundering conspiracy, and aggravated identity theft, according to a statement issued by the US Ministry of Justice on Wednesday.

Through a business email compromise scheme, the duo defrauded North Carolina University of more than $1.9 million.

The indictment was returned by a federal grand jury in the Western District of North Carolina on April 17, 2019, and was unsealed on Tuesday following Echeazu’s initial appearance in federal court in Charlotte.

Adaegbo, who resided in the UK, was also charged in the Southern District of Texas with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and wire fraud.

A federal grand jury returned the indictment March 30, 2022, which was unsealed on August 3, 2022 before he was extradited to the United States

Egbinola was charged with wire fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, money laundering, and conspiracy to commit money laundering.

According to a criminal complaint issued by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, from Sept. 26, 2018, to Dec. 26, 2018, Egbinola was alleged to have conspired with others to defraud a Virginia-based university.

All three defendants were arrested April 23, 2020, by UK authorities at the request of the United States and ordered extradited on September 3, 2021.

All three defendants filed appeals, all of which were rejected by the UK High Court on July 12, 2022.