Farouk Adekunle Adepoju, a Nigerian citizen residing in the United Kingdom, was arrested on September 15, 2025, following a US extradition request, charged with stealing over $235,000 from a Western Pennsylvania university through a sophisticated cyber fraud scheme. Acting US Attorney Troy Rivetti announced the unsealing of a seven-count indictment on September 18, 2025, detailing Adepoju’s alleged crimes.According to the US Department of Justice, between March and April 2023, Adepoju illegally accessed a protected computer system of a Western Pennsylvania construction company working for the university. He manipulated email account settings, created a spoofed domain, and impersonated a company employee. Using fraudulent emails, Adepoju tricked university staff into redirecting payment information to a bank account he controlled, leading to a transfer of $235,266.80, which remains unrecovered.“Adepoju is charged with using sophisticated cyber means to illegally access accounts to victimize one of our region’s universities,” Rivetti stated. “His arrest in the UK underscores our district’s commitment to aggressively prosecute cybercriminals worldwide with our law enforcement partners.”FBI Pittsburgh Special Agent in Charge Kevin Rojek emphasized the global reach of such crimes: “Email compromise schemes are among the costliest threats to businesses and organizations. We will find you and bring you to justice, no matter where you are.”Adepoju faces six counts of wire fraud, each carrying up to 20 years in prison, and one count of computer fraud, with a maximum of five years. Assistant US Attorney Mark V. Gurzo is prosecuting the case, supported by the DOJ’s Office of International Affairs and the FBI’s Pittsburgh Field Office. Adepoju awaits extradition to the US, where he is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
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