A United States federal court has convicted 25 persons, including several Nigerians and a Ghanaian national, for their roles in a $215 million international email fraud scheme that defrauded over 1,000 victims worldwide.
The convictions followed proceedings at the U.S. District Court in Toledo, Ohio, where three key defendants - Oluwafemi Michael Awoyemi, 40; Aruan Drake, 37; and Peter Reed, 35 - were found guilty after trial of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Awoyemi and Drake were further convicted for conspiracy to commit money laundering.
The trial, presided over by James R. Knepp II, exposed a complex “business email compromise” (BEC) scheme that operated across 47 U.S. states and at least 19 countries.
According to prosecutors, members of the syndicate infiltrated email accounts belonging to individuals and organisations, monitored communications, and deployed highly convincing fraudulent messages to request payments. The emails were designed to mirror legitimate business transactions, leading unsuspecting victims to transfer funds into accounts controlled by the group.
In one case highlighted in court, a victim firm transferred $2.7 million to a shell company account linked to the network.
Investigators said the illicit proceeds were funnelled through multiple fraudulent bank accounts and laundering channels. About $50 million was reportedly converted into cashier’s cheques and routed through a currency exchange business in the Chicago area operated by co-defendant Lon Goodman, who allegedly continued processing suspicious transactions despite repeated warnings from banks.
Victims were identified across several U.S. states, including Ohio, New York, California and Texas, as well as in countries such as Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, the United Arab Emirates, Australia and Malaysia.
Within Ohio, affected locations included Norwalk, Kent, Akron, Hudson, Maple Heights, Westfield Center, New Riegel and Greenwich.
Authorities also recovered or moved to forfeit assets including nearly $1.2 million in cash, cryptocurrency and cashier’s cheques, luxury watches, and a residential property in Georgia.
In addition to the three defendants convicted at trial, 22 others had earlier pleaded guilty to charges of wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy.
Full list of convicted defendants:
Oluwafemi Michael Awoyemi, 40, of Romeoville, Illinois
Aruan Drake, 37, of Atlanta, Georgia
Peter Reed, 35, of Oak Forest, Illinois
Ayobami Osas Christopher, aka “Lovely Man,” 30, a naturalised U.S. citizen residing in Lawrenceville, Georgia
Emmauel Okereke, aka “Omo Igbo,” 42, a Nigerian national residing in Atlanta
Olalekan Bashiru, aka “Ola Bash,” 36, a Nigerian national residing in Chicago
Mark Dabney, 26, of Chicago
Casey Adesulu Jr., 28, of Houston
Jeremiah Agina, 29, a Nigerian national residing in Houston
Ayorinde Emmanuel Adebayo, 35, a naturalised U.S. citizen residing in Olympia Fields, Illinois
Emily Agyemang, 35, of Joliet, Illinois
Ademola Balogun, 43, a Nigerian national residing in Chicago
Olabode Bankole, 37, a naturalised U.S. citizen residing in Loganville, Georgia
India Barnes, 37, of Atlanta
Emmanuel Essilfie, 28, a Ghanaian national residing in Naperville, Illinois
Chukwuemeka Evulukwu, 35, a naturalised U.S. citizen residing in Atlanta
Jeremiah Glinsey, 32, of Chicago
Lon Goodman, 69, of Whiting, Indiana
Shaquille I. Jackson, 33, of Chicago
Mikhail Keize, 31, of Loganville, Georgia
Katiera Lackey, 25, of Houston
Kingsley Owusu, 37, a naturalised U.S. citizen residing in Chicago
Anton Parker, 37, of Chicago
Carlton Pruitt, 27, of Bellwood, Illinois
Ronnell Spencer, 35, of Chicago
Prosecutors stated that sentencing for each of the 25 convicts will be determined by the court after considering factors such as their individual roles in the scheme and criminal histories.
The investigation was conducted by the FBI Cleveland Division, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the U.S. Border Patrol’s Sandusky Bay Intelligence Unit, while prosecutors Gene Crawford and Robert Melching handled the case.
Authorities say the case underscores the growing sophistication and global spread of cyber-enabled financial crimes, particularly business email compromise schemes targeting organisations worldwide.
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