32-Year-Old Nigerian Extradited from Ghana Jailed for Eight Years in US Prison

A United States Federal District Court in Maryland has sentenced a 32-year-old Nigerian national, Olusegun Adejorin, to eight years behind bars for his role in a corporate email compromise scam that stripped two charitable organizations of over $7.5 million.

Adejorin was handed a 96-month prison term, to be followed by three years of supervised release, after a federal jury convicted him on charges of wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, and unauthorized access to protected computers to obtain sensitive information.

Evidence presented during the trial showed that the convict carried out the fraudulent operation by targeting a New York-based non-profit charity and a Maryland organization that provided specialized investment services to charitable foundations.

Federal investigators established that Adejorin gained unauthorized access to the email accounts of employees at the New York charity and created deceptive lookalike internet domains designed to mimic authentic company addresses. Posing as authorized staff, he submitted withdrawal and transfer requests to the Maryland investment firm. To complete the heist, Adejorin infiltrated email accounts within the Maryland organization to fraudulently confirm and clear the transactions, routing more than $7.5 million into bank accounts unconnected to the rightful owners.

Following the digital trail, FBI investigators tracked Adejorin to Ghana, where local authorities arrested him before he was formally extradited to the United States to face criminal proceedings.

Announcing the sentence, the United States Attorney for the District of Maryland, Kelly O. Hayes, and Special Agent in Charge Jimmy Paul of the FBI Baltimore Field Office commended the operational synergy among law enforcement partners. They specifically recognized the critical assistance provided by Ghanaian authorities, including the Office of the Attorney General, the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO), the Ghana Immigration Service, and INTERPOL, in bringing the fraudster to justice.