WASHINGTON, D.C. — Ridwan Adepoju, a Nigerian national, has been sentenced to 43 months in U.S. federal prison for his involvement in a series of cyber fraud schemes targeting American individuals and businesses, according to a statement from the U.S. Department of Justice.
Adepoju, 33, along with unidentified co-conspirators, engaged in multiple fraudulent operations from Nigeria, including phishing scams, romance scams, and the submission of fake tax returns using stolen identities.
The scams involved the use of spoofed emails, false social media personas, and unwitting money mules, causing financial harm to victims across the United States, including in the Chicago area.
Adepoju later moved to the United Kingdom, where he was arrested and extradited to the United States in 2024. Following his guilty plea in March 2025 to wire fraud and aggravated identity theft, he was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Matthew Kennelly on Tuesday.
“A foreign national has been sentenced to three and a half years in federal prison for conducting a variety of cyber fraud schemes that victimized U.S. citizens and businesses,” the DOJ statement read.
His sentencing follows the high-profile conviction of five other Nigerian nationals who were recently sentenced to a combined 159 years in prison for their roles in a $17 million fraud operation affecting over 100 U.S. victims, including companies and government entities.
The defendants — Damilola Kumapayi, Sandra Iribhogbe, Edgal Iribhogbe, Chidindu Okeke, and Chiagoziem Okeke — were part of a transnational crime syndicate, according to Acting U.S. Attorney Ray Combs of the Eastern District of Texas.
The U.S. authorities continue to pursue and prosecute cybercrime and international fraud aggressively, with ongoing cooperation from law enforcement agencies across borders.
