Nigerian man sentenced to 8 years in U.S. prison for $7.5m charity scam

Nigerian national Olusegun Adejorin has been sentenced to eight years in prison in the United States for orchestrating a sophisticated business email compromise scheme that defrauded two charitable organizations of more than $7.5 million. The sentencing took place on Friday, as revealed by the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland. Adejorin, 32, received a total of 96 months behind bars, followed by three years of supervised release, for convictions related to wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, and unauthorized access to a protected computer. The conviction came after a six-day trial in December 2025, during which a federal jury found Adejorin guilty on all counts. His arrest and subsequent extradition to the United States occurred in August 2024, when the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) transported him from Ghana to stand trial. The case highlights the growing threat of cyber-enabled financial crimes targeting nonprofit institutions, particularly those engaged in financial services or community support. According to court documents, Adejorin executed his scheme between June and August 2020, targeting two charitable organizations, one based in Maryland and the other in New York. The Maryland-based charity provided investment services to other entities, making it a prime target for exploitation. Meanwhile, the New York-based organization became the direct victim of the fraudulent transactions. Prosecutors detailed how Adejorin gained unauthorized access to employee email accounts, allowing him to impersonate staff members and manipulate financial systems. As part of the scheme, Adejorin registered spoofed domain names, enabling him to mimic the communications of the New York charity's employees. These forged domains were used to request withdrawals of the organization's funds from the Maryland charity. To facilitate these fraudulent transfers, he also accessed the email accounts of the Maryland charity's employees and sent false confirmations of the withdrawal requests, appearing to validate the actions taken in the New York charity's name. Ultimately, the deception led to the transfer of over $7.5 million from the New York charity to bank accounts that were not affiliated with the intended recipients. This method of financial manipulation underscores the complexity and scale of modern cybercrimes, where digital impersonation and system infiltration can lead to substantial losses for vulnerable institutions. The prosecution was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joshua Rosenthal and Darren Gardner. The U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, Kelly Hayes, praised the FBI Baltimore Field Office for its investigative efforts and acknowledged the collaboration with international partners, including the FBI Legal Attaché in Accra, Ghana. Several Ghanaian agencies, such as the Office of the Attorney General, the Ministry of Justice, the Economic and Organised Crime Office, and law enforcement bodies like the Ghana Police Service and the National Intelligence Bureau, played key roles in supporting the case. The U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs facilitated the extradition process, working closely with Ghanaian authorities to ensure Adejorin’s return to the United States. This case exemplifies the increasing cross-border nature of financial crimes and the necessity for coordinated legal and law enforcement cooperation to address them effectively.