UK-based Nigerian Farouk Adepoju faces extradition to the U.S. on fraud charges that could earn him 125 years in prison over a
$235,000 university scam.
A UK-based Nigerian, Farouk Adekunle Adepoju, faces up to 125 years in prison in the United States after being indicted for wire and computer fraud totaling more than $235,000.
The U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) announced on Thursday that Adepoju was arrested in the United Kingdom “pursuant to a United States request for extradition following his indictment on charges of wire fraud and computer fraud on September 15, 2025.”
According to the indictment, Adepoju allegedly infiltrated the computer system of a construction company working for a university in Western Pennsylvania between March and April 2023. He is accused of creating rule changes in an employee’s email account, registering a spoofed domain, and impersonating another staff member to deceive the university into transferring $235,266.80 into a fraudulent account. The funds remain unrecovered.
Adepoju faces six counts of wire fraud, each carrying up to 20 years, and one count of computer fraud with a five-year maximum.
Acting U.S. Attorney Troy Rivetti said, “Even from halfway across the world, Adepoju was not beyond the investigative reach of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.”