A Nigerian citizen residing in the United Kingdom, Farouk Adekunle Adepoju, was arrested by UK authorities on September 15, 2025, following a U.S. request for extradition under a federal indictment. He is accused of orchestrating a sophisticated cyber-fraud scheme that resulted in over US$235,000 being diverted from a university in Western Pennsylvania.
According to the unsealed indictment from the Western District of Pennsylvania, between March and April 2023 Adepoju allegedly gained unauthorized access to a computer system owned by a Pennsylvania construction company contracted to perform work for the university.
The scheme involved several steps:
- He modified the email settings (“rule changes”) on an account of an employee at the construction company to facilitate deceitful communication.
- He registered a spoofed domain and email address to impersonate another employee of the company.
- Using that false identity, he sent fraudulent emails to the university, instructing it to update the payment instructions to a bank account under his control.
Believing the instructions were legitimate, the university changed the payment information and wired approximately US$235,266.80 to the fraudulent account. The funds had not been recovered at the time of the indictment.
Adepoju faces seven counts: six counts of wire fraud (each carrying a maximum sentence of 20 years) and one count of computer fraud (maximum penalty of five years).
A U.S. Attorney involved, Troy Rivetti, underscored that the case shows how cybercriminals may attempt global reach but “are not beyond the investigative reach of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.”
0 Comments