What’s actually slowing this PC down?
Pick the symptom - the matching free tool is one click away.
Three Nigerian nationals arrived in the United States in August 2022 after being extradited from the United Kingdom to face charges tied to alleged business email compromise (BEC) schemes. The cases involved universities and other organizations in North Carolina, Texas and Virginia. Later court outcomes are known for two of the men: Oludayo Adeagbo was sentenced to seven years in prison, and Donald Echeazu received an 18-month sentence. The sources cited here do not establish a later disposition for Olabanji Egbinola.
Who was extradited, and when?
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced on August 10, 2022, that Oludayo Kolawole John Adeagbo, Donald Ikenna Echeazu and Olabanji Egbinola had arrived in the United States following extradition from the UK. Their cases were brought in the Western District of North Carolina, Southern District of Texas and Eastern District of Virginia, respectively. The alleged schemes targeted universities in those states and attempted to cause more than $5 million in losses, according to the DOJ; that figure describes attempted losses, not a verified total paid or lost. DOJ’s 2022 announcement set out the charges and allegations.
UK authorities arrested the men on April 23, 2020, at the request of the United States. They were ordered extradited on September 3, 2021, and the UK High Court rejected their appeals on July 12, 2022. They arrived in the U.S. the following month.
What were the allegations in each case?
| Case | Alleged method and amount | Known later outcome |
|---|---|---|
| North Carolina: Adeagbo and Echeazu | In connection with a university construction project, DOJ alleged that the defendants and co-conspirators registered a domain resembling the legitimate construction company’s domain, created an email address resembling an employee’s, and directed a payment of more than $1.9 million to an account controlled by someone working under their direction. DOJ said proceeds were then moved through financial transactions intended to conceal the fraud. | Echeazu was sentenced in May 2023. Adeagbo later pleaded guilty and was sentenced in October 2024. |
| Texas: Adeagbo | DOJ alleged that Adeagbo and others used lookalike domains to impersonate employees of legitimate companies and send false payment instructions to customers. From November 2016 to July 2018, they allegedly attempted to steal more than $3 million from local government entities, construction companies and a Houston-area college. This was an attempted-theft figure, not a claim that the entire amount was paid. | Adeagbo pleaded guilty in April 2024 and was sentenced in October 2024. |
| Virginia: Egbinola | DOJ alleged that Egbinola and co-conspirators used a fraudulent email account incorporating the name of a construction company with a large university contract. The announcement said a Virginia university transferred $469,819.49 to accounts controlled by Egbinola and co-conspirators. | A later case disposition is not established by the DOJ sources cited here. |
The amounts in the cases are not interchangeable: the North Carolina and Virginia figures describe alleged transfers, while the Texas figure is an alleged attempted theft. The DOJ’s more-than-$5-million figure is an umbrella estimate of attempted losses across the schemes, not a sum of verified final losses.
What happened to the defendants after extradition?
Oludayo Kolawole John Adeagbo
Adeagbo, also known as John Edwards and John Dayo, was charged in North Carolina and Texas. He pleaded guilty in April 2024 to wire-fraud conspiracy. On October 1, 2024, he was sentenced to seven years in prison and ordered to pay $942,655.03 in restitution. The restitution order is distinct from both the alleged amounts in the extradition announcement and the minimum restitution alleged in his plea agreements. The DOJ’s April 2024 plea announcement said the agreements alleged a minimum of $14,185,847.42 in restitution, with the amount to be determined by the court; that was not the final amount ordered in October. The sentencing announcement records the sentence and final order.
Donald Ikenna Echeazu
Echeazu, also known as Donald Smith and Donald Dodient, was charged with Adeagbo in the North Carolina university scheme. DOJ reported that he was sentenced on May 16, 2023, to 18 months in prison followed by one year of supervised release, and ordered to pay $655,408.87 in restitution. The 2024 DOJ sentencing release for Adeagbo also recounts Echeazu’s outcome.
Olabanji Egbinola
Egbinola was charged in Virginia with wire fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, money laundering and conspiracy to commit money laundering. The cited DOJ announcement describes those charges and the alleged university transfer but does not establish a later court disposition. A charge is an allegation, not a finding of guilt; the 2022 announcement stated that defendants were presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
How did the alleged BEC schemes work?
Business email compromise, also called cyber-enabled financial fraud, uses email impersonation or account compromise to persuade an organization to redirect money or disclose information. The DOJ described schemes that may involve accessing a legitimate account or creating a lookalike account, then sending false wiring instructions. Funds can be moved quickly through other accounts in the United States or overseas.
Rank #3
In the cases described here, the alleged deception relied on details that could appear routine in a business relationship: a similar-looking web domain, an address resembling a real employee’s, and payment instructions connected to construction work or a supplier. DOJ notes that BEC can also involve requests for checks or theft of sensitive information rather than a wire transfer. These case-specific allegations do not establish how common BEC is or quantify losses across the wider economy.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What should someone do if a payment may have been diverted?
The DOJ directed suspected victims to file a complaint with the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3). IC3 reviews complaints for patterns and refers investigative packages to appropriate authorities. A complaint can help investigators identify related activity; it does not itself guarantee recovery of funds.
Quick Recap
Best Value
- Report the incident through the FBI’s IC3 website, as the DOJ announcement recommends.
- Contact the bank or payment provider promptly using a trusted number or channel to ask whether the transfer can be stopped or recalled.
- Preserve the relevant emails, headers, payment instructions, invoices and transaction records for investigators and the financial institution.
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
