A Nigerian national was convicted of participating in an attempt to use fraudulent digital transfers to defraud a North Dakota legal practice.
The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of North Dakota claims that between November and December of 2020, Christopher Agbaje and several others faked being a customer of the firm by posing as business owners involved in a legal dispute with a Bismarck corporation. Following a string of deceptive claims and assurances, the company got a package with a fake $198,850.00 counterfeit Citibank cheque put in their bank account. The company then wired $198,336.68 to Agbaje’s business associate at the request of the alleged business owner.
In order to hide the whereabouts, ownership, and management of the money, Agbaje gave his associate instructions to start a fictitious $180,000 international transfer after it was sent. When he learnt that the transfer was the subject of an ongoing fraud investigation by law enforcement, he allegedly gave his business partner orders to “gain leverage,” “press on,” and “claim ignorance.”
In February 2024, Agbaje was first extradited from the United Kingdom to North Dakota, where he was charged with five separate crimes. The defendant was found guilty of money laundering, aiding and abetting wire fraud, and aiding and abetting mail fraud in addition to being cleared of wire fraud and mail fraud in May.
Agbaje was sentenced to 142 months in prison on September 11 and ordered to make restitution of $188,935.74 to the firm.
“This strong sentence shows that international fraudsters cannot hide from justice,” United States Attorney Mac Schneider said. “When North Dakotans are the victims of fraud, our prosecutors and law enforcement partners will work internationally to hold defendants accountable in a federal courtroom in Bismarck or Fargo.”
“Today’s sentencing demonstrates that no fraud scheme is beyond the reach of justice, no matter its complexity or scope,” said Special Agent in Charge Alvin M. Winston Sr. of FBI Minneapolis. “Those who engage in fraudulent schemes will be met with swift and decisive action. The FBI will continue to work with partners across the globe to protect the financial security of the American people from those who seek to exploit it.”
