A Nigerian man living in the United Kingdom, Farouk Adekunle Adepoju, has been arrested by U.K. authorities following a request from the United States over allegations of wire fraud and computer fraud.
Acting U.S. Attorney Troy Rivetti announced that Adepoju was taken into custody on September 15, 2025, and now awaits extradition to the United States to face a seven-count indictment in the Western District of Pennsylvania.
According to the unsealed indictment, between March and April 2023, Adepoju allegedly hacked into the computer system of a Western Pennsylvania construction company contracted by a university. Prosecutors say he manipulated email rules, created a spoofed email account, and deceived the university into transferring $235,266.80 into a fraudulent bank account. The stolen funds have not been recovered.
“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 in a statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
“Even from halfway across the world, however, Adepoju was not beyond the investigative reach of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.”
FBI Pittsburgh Special Agent in Charge Kevin Rojek warned cybercriminals that distance offers no protection from prosecution.
“Criminals who think they can reach across the globe into the United States to line their pockets at the expense of the American public need know one thing: the FBI and our partners are not going to let you get away with it,” Rojek said.
Adepoju faces six counts of wire fraud, each carrying a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, and one count of computer fraud, which carries a maximum of five years if convicted.
