The United States Department of Justice has detailed how a Nigerian man, Farouk Adekunle Adepoju, allegedly defrauded a Pennsylvania university of $235,000 (about N363 million) through an elaborate email compromise scheme.
According to prosecutors, Adepoju, who resides in the United Kingdom, hacked into the email system of a Pennsylvania-based construction company contracted by the university. He reportedly created fake accounts to impersonate staff members and trick the institution into diverting payments to his own accounts.
Court filings allege that between March and April 2023, Adepoju remotely accessed the company’s computer system, altered email rules, and registered a spoofed domain. Using this setup, he sent fraudulent payment instructions to the university, which then transferred $235,266 to him, believing the instructions were legitimate.
Adepoju was arrested in the UK on September 15, 2025, and is awaiting extradition to the United States, where he faces a seven-count indictment in the Western District of Pennsylvania. He has been charged with six counts of wire fraud and one count of computer fraud. Each wire fraud count carries a potential 20-year prison sentence, while the computer fraud charge carries a maximum of five years.
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Acting US Attorney Troy Rivetti emphasised the seriousness of the case, stating:
“Adepoju is charged with using sophisticated cyber means to illegally access accounts belonging to a business in order to victimise one of our region’s universities. Even from halfway across the world, however, Adepoju was not beyond the investigative reach of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.”
FBI Pittsburgh Special Agent in Charge, Kevin Rojek, also warned that cybercriminals will not escape justice:
“Criminals who think they can reach across the globe into the United States to line their pockets at the expense of the American public need know one thing: the FBI and our partners are not going to let you get away with it. We will find you and bring you to justice, no matter where you might be.”
The FBI’s Pittsburgh Field Office led the investigation, while Assistant US Attorney Mark V. Gurzo is prosecuting the case, supported by the Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs.
Authorities stressed that the indictment is only an allegation and that Adepoju is presumed innocent until proven guilty in court.