Nigerian Man Sentenced to 34years in Prison for Defrauding US Citizens

According to information from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, 30-year-old Nigerian man, Babatope Aderinoye was convicted in October of 2020 on charges of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, wire fraud and money laundering, as well as aggravated identity theft and mail fraud.

Aderinoye committed the crimes by obtaining fake passports using other people’s identities. He then used those passports to set up fake businesses and bank accounts.

Investigators connected him to at least 13 different aliases, 12 fake businesses and 40 fraudulent bank accounts. They believe there could be more.

He and his co-conspirators used various e-mail compromise scams and telephone compromise scams to defraud the victims. They would pose as someone familiar and encourage their victims to wire funds to fraudulent bank accounts.

Once the money arrived in Aderinoye’s fraudulent accounts, he would withdraw the funds and transfer them to a bank account he had set up in Nigeria.

Between June 2018 and September 2019, Aderinoye stole more than $6.7 million from his victims, included a man who lost his entire retirement savings, Community ISD in southeastern Collin County and the non-profit organization Project 4031.

“The defendant defrauded senior citizens, a school district, and a non-profit aimed at helping the families of the terminally ill. The money stolen was needed for critical services, basic everyday necessities, and retirement,” said FBI Dallas Special Agent in Charge Matthew DeSarno.

“The types of fraud committed by Mr. Aderinoye and his co-conspirators not only have lasting ramifications for the affected victims but also threaten the integrity of our country’s financial systems,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei. “While today’s sentence is a decisive victory for the victims of Mr. Aderinoye and his co-conspirators, the overall fight against cyber fraud continues. EDTX will do everything in its power to bring other cybercriminals to justice, and to recover ill-gotten gains for those victimized.”

The FBI is reportedly still working on the case to identify potential victims and Aderinoye’s co-conspirators.

In addition to his prison sentence, Aderinoye was ordered to pay nearly $2 million in restitution.