United States District Court Judge Daniel M. Traynor has sentenced Nigerian citizen Christopher Agbaje to serve 142 months’ imprisonment and to pay $188,935.74 in restitution to a North Dakota law firm.
Agbaje was found guilty of charges including Money Laundering, Aiding and Abetting Wire Fraud, and Aiding and Abetting Mail Fraud.
The sentencing followed a four-day trial that concluded on May 16, 2024, where a federal jury convicted him on these charges while acquitting him of separate Wire Fraud and Mail Fraud charges.
The fraudulent activities took place between November and December 2020. Agbaje, along with his accomplices, orchestrated a sophisticated scheme to defraud the North Dakota law firm out of $198,336.68.
They falsely posed as a business owner embroiled in a legal dispute with a Bismarck company, establishing a fictitious attorney-client relationship with the law firm.
Through deceptive email communications, they convinced the law firm to deposit a fraudulent Citibank check worth $198,850.00 and subsequently wired $198,336.68 to Agbaje’s business partner.
Agbaje then directed his partner to initiate an international wire transfer of $180,000 to obscure the origins and ownership of the stolen funds. When law enforcement began investigating the fraud, Agbaje urged his partner to "press on," gain "leverage," and claim "naivety."
United States Attorney Mac Schneider emphasized the importance of the sentence, stating, "This strong sentence shows that international fraudsters cannot hide from justice."
Special Agent in Charge Alvin M. Winston Sr. of FBI Minneapolis added, "Today's sentencing demonstrates that no fraud scheme is beyond the reach of justice, no matter its complexity or scope."
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Jonathan J. O’Konek and Nick Baker.
The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs played a crucial role in securing Agbaje's arrest and extradition from the United Kingdom to North Dakota in February 2024.
For those affected by cybercrime, the FBI encourages filing a report at their Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) at https://www.ic3.gov/.
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