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Banks (Finance)

Nigerian National Sentenced to 408 Months in Prison for Bank Fraud and Money Laundering Conspiracy

Strategic Insights

— 2 min read

Babatope Joseph Aderinoye, a 30-year-old Nigerian national residing in Plano, Texas, has been sentenced to 408 months in federal prison for his involvement in a bank fraud and money laundering conspiracy in the Eastern District of Texas. Aderinoye was convicted by a jury on October 14, 2020, of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering, as well as wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, and mail fraud. The court also ordered Aderinoye to pay restitution in the amount of $1,919,526.13.

Key Takeaways:

  • Aderinoye was convicted by a jury on October 14, 2020, of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering, as well as wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, and mail fraud.
  • The investigation revealed that Aderinoye obtained fake passports in the names of others and used them to establish false business entities and fraudulent bank accounts.
  • Aderinoye and his co-conspirators carried out various business email compromise scams and telephone compromise scams, defrauding individuals and businesses out of money.
  • Over $6.7 million was deposited into Aderinoye's alias accounts between June 2018 and September 2019, with almost all of those funds being withdrawn or wired internationally.
  • The victims of the BEC scams included school districts, a non-profit organization, an individual whose identity was used to drain his retirement account, and an elderly man who had over $352,000 stolen from his investment account.
  • The investigation is ongoing, as co-conspirators and victims continue to be identified.
  • The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Dallas Financial Crimes Task Force, which includes FBI agents and members of the Fort Worth Police Department.

Statistics:

  • 408 months: Aderinoye's prison sentence for his involvement in the bank fraud and money laundering conspiracy.
  • $1,919,526.13: The amount of restitution Aderinoye was ordered to pay.
  • 13 individual aliases: The number of aliases Aderinoye used to establish fake identities.
  • 12 business aliases: The number of business aliases Aderinoye used to conduct his fraudulent activities.
  • Over 40: The number of fraudulent bank accounts Aderinoye set up to facilitate his scams.
  • $6.7 million: The amount of money deposited into Aderinoye's alias accounts between June 2018 and September 2019.

Sources:

  • Acting U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei, U.S. Department of Justice, Eastern District of Texas, news release, no date provided.
  • FBI Dallas Special Agent in Charge Matthew DeSarno, Federal Bureau of Investigation, no date provided.
  • Babatope Joseph Aderinoye, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, case no. 4:20-CR-00013, October 14, 2020.

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