A Nigerian man based in the United Kingdom, Farouk Adekunle Adepoju, has been arrested by British authorities at the request of the United States government after being indicted on multiple charges of wire fraud and computer fraud.
According to US prosecutors, Adepoju allegedly hacked into the email system of a Pennsylvania construction company contracted by a university. He reportedly created spoofed accounts to impersonate staff members and redirected payments meant for the company into a fraudulent account under his control.
The US Department of Justice disclosed on Thursday that Adepoju was arrested on September 15, 2025, and now faces a seven-count indictment in the Western District of Pennsylvania. The charges stem from incidents that took place between March and April 2023.
Court documents alleged that Adepoju manipulated email rules, set up a fake domain, and used it to send fraudulent payment instructions to the university. Acting on the emails, the institution updated its records and transferred about $235,266 (₦363m) into the fraudulent account. The funds remain unrecovered.
Acting US Attorney Troy Rivetti described Adepoju’s methods as “sophisticated cyber means,” adding that his arrest shows the reach of US law enforcement. FBI Pittsburgh Special Agent in Charge Kevin Rojek also warned that “email compromise schemes are not victimless crimes” and pledged that such criminals would be hunted down globally.
Adepoju faces six counts of wire fraud, each carrying up to 20 years in prison, and one count of computer fraud, which carries a maximum of five years. He is awaiting extradition proceedings from the UK.
Authorities, however, stressed that the indictment remains an allegation, and Adepoju is presumed innocent until proven guilty in court.
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