US-Based Nigerian Luxury Lifestyle Businessman, Edika Adiakpan Convicted on Internet Fraud
Edikan Adiakpan, 34, a Nigerian businessman based in the US has been pleaded guilty in a U.S. district court to operating engaging in internet fraud that stole millions of dollars from some Americans.
Adiakpan, one of two Nigerian brothers that ran a luxury transportation business named “Akama Lifestyle” in Houston was convicted of being a central figure in an illegal money-transmitting business linked to a multimillion-dollar business email compromise scheme, a popular scam known as “Yahooo Yahoo” in Nigeria.
According to a statement issued by the US Department of Justice on Tuesday said Mr Adiakpan, received stolen funds on behalf of fraudsters and 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 statement read.
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.
The convict is expected to 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.
In line with current government policy in the US, Adiakpan will face possible deportation after he serves his sentence.
Adiakpan’s “Akama Lifestyle” executive transportation company had long list of rappers, professional ballers, actors and CEOs among his long list of clientelle that he serviced in Houston before the bubble burst.
He had told US news outlet, ABC News 13 in a 2021 interview that “This [Akama Lifestyle] was a passion project that we started, and we didn’t think it was going to go this far.”
Narrating his journey of economic success in the the US, he told the news outlet that, “My parents decided it would be best for us to move here to have a better life. Everybody wants to have a better life when they come out here to the states, so that’s one of the reasons why we came out here. Just to explore and live the American dream.”