British authorities have arrested a Nigerian national, Farouk Adekunle Adepoju, on allegations of cyber fraud after U.S. prosecutors accused him of orchestrating a sophisticated email hacking scheme that cost an American university more than $235,000.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Adepoju was indicted on six counts of wire fraud and one count of computer fraud in the Western District of Pennsylvania.
He was taken into custody in the United Kingdom on September 15, 2025, and now awaits extradition to the United States.
Investigators allege that between March and April 2023, Adepoju hacked into the systems of a Pennsylvania construction company contracted by a university, manipulated email settings, and created a spoofed domain.
He then sent fake payment instructions that tricked the university into diverting $235,266 (₦363 million) to an account under his control. The stolen funds have not been recovered.
Acting U.S. Attorney Troy Rivetti described the scheme as a calculated attempt to exploit a trusted business relationship.
“Adepoju is charged with using sophisticated cyber means to illegally access accounts belonging to a business in order to victimize one of our region’s universities,” Rivetti said.
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The FBI’s Pittsburgh Field Office, which led the investigation, warned that such cybercrimes are far from victimless.
“Criminals who think they can reach across the globe into the United States need to know one thing: the FBI and our partners are not going to let you get away with it,” Special Agent in Charge Kevin Rojek stated.
If convicted, Adepoju faces up to 20 years in prison for each wire fraud count and an additional five years for the computer fraud charge.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark V. Gurzo, with support from the Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs.
Authorities emphasized that an indictment is only a formal charge, and Adepoju remains presumed innocent until proven guilty.