A41-year-old Nigerian, Alex Ogunshakin, has been sentenced to 45 months in prison by a federal court in the United States.
US Attorney Susan Lehr announced that Ogunshakin was sentenced on October 31, 2024, in federal court in Omaha, Nebraska for conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
Senior United States District John M. Gerrard sentenced Ogunshakin to a total of 45 months’ imprisonment. There is no parole in the federal system.
After Ogunshakin’s release from prison, he will begin a 3-year term of supervised release and is subject to removal from the United States.
According to the United States Attorney’s Office, District of Nebraska, from sometime no later than January 2015, continuing to the September 2016, Ogunshakin participated in a scheme to defraud U.S. based businesses.
As a part of the scheme, Ogunshakin and other individuals participated in a business e-mail compromise scheme in which co-conspirators used compromised e-mail accounts to send spoofed e-mails to thousands of business employees who handled accounting, to include authorizing and sending wire transfers.
Ogunshakin’s co-conspirator, Adewale Akinloye, was sentenced to 96 months’ imprisonment in February 2019. Co-conspirators Richard Uzuh, Felix Okpoh, and Nnamdi Benson all remain at large. Co-conspirator Abiola Kayode’s extradition proceedings are ongoing.
“As a part of the scheme, Ogunshakin and other individuals participated in a business e-mail compromise scheme in which co-conspirators used compromised e-mail accounts to send spoofed e-mails to thousands of business employees who handled accounting, to include authorizing and sending wire transfers” a statement by the US Justice department noted.
“Co-conspirators spoofed e-mail addressed to pose as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) or other business executives and would direct recipients of the e-mail to complete wire transfers.”
“The business employee, thinking the wire transfer request was legitimate, would comply with the wire transfer and send money to a location providing in wiring instructions. Ogunshakin and other co-conspirators provided bank account information to the co-conspirators who sent the spoofed e-mails to the business executives.” the statement further read
Ogunshakin has no option of parole as there is no parole in the federal system.
It was also noted that after Ogunshakin’s release from prison, he will begin a 3-year term of supervised release and is subject to removal from the United States.
It was noted that in February 2015 and May 2015, two Nebraska based businesses were targeted by the scheme.
It was further revealed that investigation into the scheme revealed over 70 U.S. based business were victimized and the loss amount exceed $6 million, with attempted losses exceeding $30 million.
Ogunshakin, who was arrested in Nigeria, was on the FBI Cyber’s Most Wanted List.
The statement reads, “Ogunshakin and the co-conspirators committed the offense from outside the United States, mostly from Nigeria. At the request of the United States, Nigerian authorities arrested Ogunshakin for the purpose of his extradition in October 2020, a court in Nigeria found him extraditable in July 2023, and Nigerian authorities extradited him to the United States in September 2023.”
“The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs provided substantial assistance in securing the arrest and extradition of Ogunshakin in coordination with the FBI’s Legal Attaché in Abuja, Nigeria’s Office of the Attorney General and Federal Ministry of Justice, and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.” the statement added.