A Nigerian national, Ridwan Adepoju, has been handed a prison sentence of 43 months by a United States District Court for his involvement in a cyber fraud operation that affected numerous American individuals and companies.
This was made known in a statement released by the US Department of Justice, which was obtained by PUNCH Metro on Sunday.
The statement revealed that Adepoju, along with his associates, carried out several forms of cybercrime—including phishing schemes, romance scams, and filing of fake tax returns—while based in Nigeria.
It was also stated that Adepoju later relocated to the United Kingdom, where he was apprehended and extradited to the United States in 2024.
After his extradition, Adepoju was indicted and subsequently admitted guilt in March 2025 to charges related to federal wire fraud and aggravated identity theft.
The statement read, “A foreign national has been sentenced to three and a half years in federal prison for conducting a variety of cyber fraud schemes that victimised U.S. citizens and businesses.
“Ridwan Adeleke Adepoju and co-schemers operated multiple fraud schemes from Nigeria, including phishing scams, romance scams, and the submission of fraudulent tax returns. The scams involved multiple spoofed email addresses, fictional social media personas, and unwitting money mules.
“Adepoju’s schemes victimised numerous U.S. citizens and businesses, including individuals and companies in the Chicago area. Adepoju, 33, of Lagos, Nigeria, was arrested last year in the United Kingdom and extradited to the United States. He pleaded guilty in March to federal wire fraud and aggravated identity theft charges.”
Following his plea, the US court sentenced him to 43 months in prison.
“On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Matthew Kennelly imposed a 43-month prison sentence,” the statement noted.
Earlier, PUNCH Metro had reported on Thursday that five other Nigerians were sentenced to a cumulative total of over 159 years in prison by a US court for defrauding more than 100 Americans, businesses, and government agencies of $17 million.
Acting US Attorney for the Eastern District of Texas, Ray Combs, made this announcement in a separate statement.
He explained that the convicted individuals—Damilola Kumapayi, Sandra Iribhogbe, Edgal Iribhogbe, Chidindu Okeke, and Chiagoziem Okeke—were part of a transnational criminal syndicate.
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