Two Defendants Convicted For Operating Multimillion-Dollar Business Email Compromise And Money Laundering Scheme
summary
Oluwaseun Adelekan and Temitope Omotayo were convicted of conspiring to commit wire fraud and money laundering by impersonating trusted business partners in a multimillion-dollar BEC scheme that stole over $6 million, using forged invoices and identity theft, and face up to 20 years per conspiracy count plus a mandatory two-year consecutive sentence for aggravated identity theft.
paragraph
Oluwaseun Adelekan and Temitope Omotayo were convicted of conspiring to commit wire fraud, money laundering, and aggravated identity theft in a global business email compromise scheme that defrauded victims of over $6 million. Beginning in July 2016, they impersonated trusted advisers to trick victims into wiring funds to accounts they controlled, then laundered the proceeds through rapid international transfers to jurisdictions including China and Nigeria, using fraudulent invoices and stolen identities. Each faces a maximum of 20 years in prison for each conspiracy count and a mandatory consecutive two-year sentence for aggravated identity theft, with sentencing scheduled for January 27, 2022.
narrative
Oluwaseun Adelekan and Temitope Omotayo were convicted by a jury of conspiring to commit wire fraud, money laundering, and aggravated identity theft in a years-long business email compromise scheme that caused losses exceeding $6 million. Beginning no later than July 2016, they and their co-conspirators impersonated trusted business partners and advisers to deceive victims into wiring funds to accounts under their control. To facilitate the fraud, they created fraudulent invoices and contracts using victims’ identities to justify the illicit wire transfers, which were then rapidly funneled through a network of bank accounts across the globe, including China and Nigeria. Both defendants were found guilty on three counts each: conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and aggravated identity theft. The aggravated identity theft charge carries a mandatory consecutive two-year prison term, while each conspiracy count carries a maximum penalty of 20 years. The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, with sentencing scheduled for January 27, 2022. The jury’s swift guilty verdict underscored the scale and sophistication of the scheme, which targeted businesses worldwide and exploited trust in legitimate financial relationships.
Classified cyber-fraud(confidence 98%). No EDGAR filing fingerprint (criminal/DOJ-side scheme). detection rule →
Parties
aggravated identity theftdamian williamsdaniel h. wolffraudulent invoicesguilty verdictshomeland security investigationsoluwaseun adelekanrebecca t. dellrobert b. sobelmantemitope omotayotrusted advisers
Keywords
money launderingadelekan omotayoadelekanomotayobusinesslinkconvicted operatingoperating multimillion-dollarmultimillion-dollar businessbusiness emailemail compromisecompromise moneylaundering schemegovernment non-governmentnon-government sites
Extracted insights
Dollar amounts 1
- $6.00M $6 million $1M–$10M
Entities 13
- person aggravated identity theft
- scheme_term conspiracies to commit wire fraud
- person damian williams
- person daniel h. wolf
- person fraudulent invoices
- person guilty verdicts
- person homeland security investigations
- scheme_term money laundering
- person oluwaseun adelekan
- person rebecca t. dell
- person robert b. sobelman
- person temitope omotayo
- person trusted advisers
Triples 24
- Damian Williams announced guilty verdicts
- jury returned guilty verdicts
- OLUWASEUN ADELEKAN convicted of conspiracies to commit wire fraud
- OLUWASEUN ADELEKAN convicted of money laundering
- OLUWASEUN ADELEKAN convicted of aggravated identity theft
- TEMITOPE OMOTAYO convicted of conspiracies to commit wire fraud
- TEMITOPE OMOTAYO convicted of money laundering
- TEMITOPE OMOTAYO convicted of aggravated identity theft
- Loretta A. Preska presided over trial
- ADELEKAN agreed with others
- ADELEKAN impersonated trusted advisers
- ADELEKAN tricked victims
- victims wired millions of dollars
- ADELEKAN caused funds to be transferred
- ADELEKAN created fraudulent invoices
- ADELEKAN created contracts
- ADELEKAN caused losses
- OMOTAYO caused losses
- ADELEKAN scheduled to be sentenced on January 27, 2022
- OMOTAYO scheduled to be sentenced on January 27, 2022
- Rebecca T. Dell in charge of prosecution
- Daniel H. Wolf in charge of prosecution
- Robert B. Sobelman in charge of prosecution
- Homeland Security Investigations praised by Mr. Williams
Extracted body text (4,008c)
Press Release Two Defendants Convicted For Operating Multimillion-Dollar Business Email Compromise And Money Laundering Scheme Wednesday, October 27, 2021 Share FacebookLinks to other government and non-government sites will typically appear with the “external link” icon to indicate that you are leaving the Department of Justice website when you click the link. XLinks to other government and non-government sites will typically appear with the “external link” icon to indicate that you are leaving the Department of Justice website when you click the link. LinkedInLinks to other government and non-government sites will typically appear with the “external link” icon to indicate that you are leaving the Department of Justice website when you click the link. Email For Immediate Release U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of New York Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that a jury returned guilty verdicts yesterday against OLUWASEUN ADELEKAN, a/k/a “Sean Adelekan,” and TEMITOPE OMOTAYO for conspiracies to commit wire fraud and money laundering, and aggravated identity theft. U.S. District Judge Loretta A. Preska presided over the one-week trial. U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “As a unanimous jury swiftly determined, Oluwaseun Adelekan and Temitope Omotayo were members of a years-long scheme to steal millions of dollars from businesses large and small across the globe and to launder their fraud proceeds domestically and internationally. The two will now pay for their criminal activity and the harm they exacted upon their victims. ” As reflected in the Superseding Indictment, public filings, and the evidence presented at trial: Beginning no later than in or about July 2016, ADELEKAN and OMOTAYO agreed with others to impersonate trusted advisers and business partners of victim individuals and businesses, and to trick those victims into wiring millions of dollars into “business” bank accounts controlled by ADELEKAN, OMOTAYO, and their co-conspirators. After the victims wired funds intended for their advisers and business partners to ADELEKAN, OMOTAYO, and their co-conspirators, ADELEKAN and OMOTAYO caused those funds to be transferred quickly into different bank accounts in various locations throughout the world, including China and Nigeria. ADELAKAN and OMOTAYO also created fraudulent invoices and contracts, using their victims’ identities, to be submitted to banks in support of the large volume of funds that were fraudulently transmitted via wire transfers. Through these false and deceptive representations over the course of the scheme, ADELEKAN, OMOTAYO, and their co-conspirators caused losses to victims in excess of $6 million. * * * ADELEKAN, 39, of the United States and Nigeria, and OMOTAYO, 39, of Nigeria, were each convicted of (1) one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, which carries a maximum term of 20 years in prison; (2) one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, which carries a maximum term of 20 years in prison; and (3) one count of aggravated identity theft, which carries a mandatory consecutive term of two years in prison. The statutory maximum sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendants will be determined by Judge Preska. The defendants are scheduled to be sentenced on January 27, 2022. Mr. Williams praised the outstanding work of Homeland Security Investigations and Special Agents from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York. The prosecution of this case is being handled by the Office’s General Crimes Unit. Assistant United States Attorneys Rebecca T. Dell, Daniel H. Wolf, and Robert B. Sobelman are in charge of the prosecution. Contact [email protected] [email protected] (212) 637-2600 Updated October 27, 2021 Topics Financial Fraud Identity Theft Component USAO - New York, Southern Press Release Number: 21-301
OCR text (4,008c · plain-text · 99% conf)
Press Release Two Defendants Convicted For Operating Multimillion-Dollar Business Email Compromise And Money Laundering Scheme Wednesday, October 27, 2021 Share FacebookLinks to other government and non-government sites will typically appear with the “external link” icon to indicate that you are leaving the Department of Justice website when you click the link. XLinks to other government and non-government sites will typically appear with the “external link” icon to indicate that you are leaving the Department of Justice website when you click the link. LinkedInLinks to other government and non-government sites will typically appear with the “external link” icon to indicate that you are leaving the Department of Justice website when you click the link. Email For Immediate Release U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of New York Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that a jury returned guilty verdicts yesterday against OLUWASEUN ADELEKAN, a/k/a “Sean Adelekan,” and TEMITOPE OMOTAYO for conspiracies to commit wire fraud and money laundering, and aggravated identity theft. U.S. District Judge Loretta A. Preska presided over the one-week trial. U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “As a unanimous jury swiftly determined, Oluwaseun Adelekan and Temitope Omotayo were members of a years-long scheme to steal millions of dollars from businesses large and small across the globe and to launder their fraud proceeds domestically and internationally. The two will now pay for their criminal activity and the harm they exacted upon their victims. ” As reflected in the Superseding Indictment, public filings, and the evidence presented at trial: Beginning no later than in or about July 2016, ADELEKAN and OMOTAYO agreed with others to impersonate trusted advisers and business partners of victim individuals and businesses, and to trick those victims into wiring millions of dollars into “business” bank accounts controlled by ADELEKAN, OMOTAYO, and their co-conspirators. After the victims wired funds intended for their advisers and business partners to ADELEKAN, OMOTAYO, and their co-conspirators, ADELEKAN and OMOTAYO caused those funds to be transferred quickly into different bank accounts in various locations throughout the world, including China and Nigeria. ADELAKAN and OMOTAYO also created fraudulent invoices and contracts, using their victims’ identities, to be submitted to banks in support of the large volume of funds that were fraudulently transmitted via wire transfers. Through these false and deceptive representations over the course of the scheme, ADELEKAN, OMOTAYO, and their co-conspirators caused losses to victims in excess of $6 million. * * * ADELEKAN, 39, of the United States and Nigeria, and OMOTAYO, 39, of Nigeria, were each convicted of (1) one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, which carries a maximum term of 20 years in prison; (2) one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, which carries a maximum term of 20 years in prison; and (3) one count of aggravated identity theft, which carries a mandatory consecutive term of two years in prison. The statutory maximum sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendants will be determined by Judge Preska. The defendants are scheduled to be sentenced on January 27, 2022. Mr. Williams praised the outstanding work of Homeland Security Investigations and Special Agents from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York. The prosecution of this case is being handled by the Office’s General Crimes Unit. Assistant United States Attorneys Rebecca T. Dell, Daniel H. Wolf, and Robert B. Sobelman are in charge of the prosecution. Contact [email protected] [email protected] (212) 637-2600 Updated October 27, 2021 Topics Financial Fraud Identity Theft Component USAO - New York, Southern Press Release Number: 21-301