In September 2024 Oludayo Adeagbo, 45, and Donald Echeazu, 42, both pled guilty to wire fraud. They scammed colleges and businesses out of $1.9 million in Charlotte, NC. Both men were dual citizens of Nigeria and the United Kingdom.
Oludayo conspired with Donald and others to participate in multiple cyber enabled schemes that defrauded a North Carolina university out of more than $1.9 million, and attempted to steal more than $3 million from victim entities in Texas, including local government entities, construction companies, and a Houston area college.
Oludayo and Donald arrived in the United States in August 2022 after they were extradited from the United Kingdom to face criminal charges. Nigerian scams are prevalent in Charlotte.
From August 30, 2016, to January 12, 2017 Oludayo and Donald defrauded a North Carolina university of more than $1.9 million.
The men obtained information about significant construction projects occurring throughout the United States, including an ongoing multi-million-dollar project at the University.
To execute the scheme, the suspects registered a domain name similar to that of the legitimate construction company in charge of the University’s construction project and created an email address that closely resembled that of an employee of the construction company.
Using the fake email address, the fraudsters deceived and directed the University to wire a payment of more than $1.9 million to a bank account controlled by an individual working under the direction of Oludayo.
Upon receiving the payment, the suspects laundered the stolen proceeds through a series of financial transactions designed to conceal the fraud. In 2022 both men were arrested.
Donald was sentenced to 18 months in prison followed by a year of supervised release and was ordered to pay $655,408.87 in restitution for his role in the conspiracy.
Oludayo has not been sentenced yet.
