Nigerian man charged after hacking US varsity systems to steal $235,000

A Nigerian man living in the United Kingdom, Farouk Adekunle Adepoju has been arrested following a U.S. request for extradition on charges of wire fraud and computer fraud, Acting United States Attorney Troy Rivetti announced.

Adepoju was arrested by U.K. authorities on September 15, 2025, and is awaiting extradition 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 a computer belonging to a Western Pennsylvania construction company working for a university, altered email rules, created a spoofed email account, and tricked the university into sending about $235,266.80 to a fraudulent bank account. The 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,” aid Acting United States Attorney Rivetti in a press release 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 added, “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.”

Adepoju faces six counts of wire fraud and one count of computer fraud, which carry a maximum sentence of 20 years and five years in prison respectively.