A 34-year-old Nigerian national based in Houston, Edikan Adiakpan, has pleaded guilty to operating an illegal money transmission business, according to Acting U.S. Attorney John G.E. Marck.

Court filings revealed that between 2020 and 2022, Adiakpan ran an unlicensed money transfer operation through a company he controlled, Akama Lifestyle. As part of his guilty plea, he admitted that “he used the business to transfer funds and kept a percentage as a fee.”

Authorities said the funds handled by Adiakpan were proceeds of a business email compromise (BEC) scheme carried out by fraudsters who targeted more than 10 victims.

The victims were deceived through spoofed emails that appeared to originate from legitimate suppliers and creditors, leading them to unknowingly send payments to accounts controlled by the fraud network.

In one instance, a victim transferred $927,080 to the fraud syndicate, which subsequently moved part of the funds to Adiakpan. He was also found to have cashed a $60,000 cashier’s cheque linked to the scheme.

Adiakpan is currently in custody and will remain detained pending sentencing.

In a related development, another Nigerian, Ayobami Omoniyi, was earlier sentenced on March 24 to 32 months in federal prison for his involvement in the same scheme.

U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen accepted Adiakpan’s guilty plea and fixed sentencing for September 15. He faces up to five years in prison and a possible $250,000 fine.

The case Is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Houston Field Office and its Bryan Resident Agency, alongside the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation. Prosecution is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Belinda Beek. (The Nation)