A Nigerian, Edikan Adiakpan, has pleaded guilty in a U.S. district court to operating an illegal money-transmitting business linked to a multimillion-dollar business email compromise scheme, a form of cyber fraud often associated with Yahoo Boys. 

A statement by the Department of Justice on Tuesday said Mr Adiakpan, 34, owned Akama Lifestyle, through which he received stolen funds on behalf of fraudsters.

He ran the business from 2020 to 2022.

“As part of his plea, he admitted he used the business to transfer funds and kept a percentage as a fee,” the DoJ said.

The district judge for the Southern District of Texas, Andrew Hanen, accepted Mr Adiakpan’s plea.

Prosecutor Belinda Beek said over 10 victims received “spoofed” emails and were deceived into paying into bank accounts controlled by fraudsters who impersonated suppliers and creditors.

She said Mr Adiakpan collected $60,000 from the $927,080 a victim wired to the fraud network.

“He redeemed a cashier’s check payable to himself that contained $60,000 of the victim’s money,” the prosecutor said.

Mr Adiakpan will remain in custody pending sentencing in September and faces a maximum sentence of five years’ imprisonment and a possible fine of $250,000.

The FBI Houston Field Office, the Bryan Resident Agency, and the IRS Criminal Investigation conducted the investigation.

On March 24, another 26-year-old Nigerian, Ayobami Omoniyi, was sentenced to 32 months in prison for his role in the fraud scheme.

Mr Omoniyi was ordered to pay $202,273.80 in restitution and will be deported upon serving his jail term. He pleaded guilty on August 19, 2024.