A 33-year-old Nigerian man, Edikan Adiakpan, has been arrested in the United States over his alleged involvement in a large-scale business email compromise (BEC) and money laundering scheme, which defrauded organisations in at least eight U.S. states.
The development was confirmed in a statement published on Thursday by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), which disclosed that one of the victims included a California-based medical research group focused on developing treatments for U.S. military veterans.
The arrest was formally announced by Nicholas J. Ganjei, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Texas, who said Adiakpan is expected to make his initial court appearance before Magistrate Judge Peter Bray in Houston.
Adiakpan was named in a three-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury on June 11, 2025, which charges him with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and operating an unlicensed money transmission business.
According to the DOJ, Adiakpan and his co-conspirators executed the BEC scam in 2021, using spoofed email addresses to impersonate legitimate vendors and trick targeted organisations into diverting payments to fraudulent bank accounts under their control.
“They were allegedly tricked into sending payments to bank accounts the fraudsters controlled instead of the actual suppliers,” the DOJ stated. “The charges further allege the conspirators laundered the funds by quickly transferring the money between multiple bank accounts they controlled. They then allegedly converted the funds into cashier’s checks. Adiakpan allegedly cashed the checks and kept a percentage as a fee.”
Another Nigerian national, 26-year-old Ayobami Omoniyi, has also been charged in connection with the same scheme and is currently awaiting sentencing before U.S. District Judge Andrew S. Hanen.
The DOJ noted that if convicted, Adiakpan faces up to 20 years in federal prison for the conspiracy and money laundering charges, and up to five years for operating an unlicensed money transmission business. Each offence carries a potential fine of up to $250,000.
