A 33-year-old Nigerian man, Edikan Adiakpan, has been arrested in Houston, Texas, for his alleged involvement in a massive money laundering and business email compromise scheme.
The arrest was announced on June 26, 2025, by U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei. Adiakpan faces a three-count indictment, charging him with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and conspiracy to transmit illegal funds.
According to the indictment, Adiakpan and his co-conspirators carried out a business email compromise scheme targeting companies in at least eight states.
The scheme involved sending "spoofed" emails that appeared to come from known suppliers and creditors, tricking victims into sending payments to bank accounts controlled by the fraudsters.
The conspirators allegedly laundered the funds by transferring them between multiple bank accounts and converting them into cashier's checks. Adiakpan allegedly cashed the checks and kept a percentage as a fee.
The investigation was conducted by the FBI and IRS Criminal Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Belinda Beek and Christine Lu are prosecuting the case.
If convicted, Adiakpan faces up to 20 years in federal prison on the conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy charges and up to five years for the illegal money transmitting. Each conviction carries a possible $250,000 maximum fine.
Another Nigerian citizen, Ayobami Omoniyi, 26, was previously charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud as part of the same scheme and is awaiting sentencing.
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