Houston Man Edikan Adiakpan Gets 30 Months for Moving Money From Business Email Scam

Published Oct. 20, 2026. Case status is current as of that date.

The email looked like it came from a supplier the business had paid many times before. It asked for payment, and the money went out. According to federal prosecutors in Houston, it went instead to accounts controlled by fraudsters, and from there, part of it moved through a company that advertised itself as a luxury car service.

On Oct. 8, 2026, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Texas announced that Edikan Adiakpan, 35, a Houston resident, was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for illegally transmitting proceeds from a business email compromise scheme. U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen imposed the sentence. Adiakpan pleaded guilty May 12 [1].

Ayobami Omoniyi, 27, was sentenced March 24 to 32 months in federal prison for his role in the scheme, prosecutors said [1].

Status: Adiakpan pleaded guilty and has been sentenced. Omoniyi has been sentenced; the release does not specify the charge to which he pleaded or was convicted.

How the scheme worked

According to evidence the court heard at sentencing, as described by prosecutors [1]:

1. The spoof. Fraudsters sent "spoofed" emails that appeared to come from suppliers and creditors the victims already knew.
2. The redirect. The emails tricked victims into sending payments to bank accounts the fraudsters controlled instead of to the real suppliers. More than 10 victims were targeted.
3. The pass-through. From 2020 to 2022, Adiakpan used "Akama Lifestyle," a company he controlled and advertised as a luxury car service, to transfer funds for others. He kept a percentage of the transferred funds as a fee.
4. The cash-out. In one case, a small utility trailer company in Mississippi wired $927,080 to the Houston fraudsters, believing it was paying its trailer supplier. The fraudsters sent portions of that money to Adiakpan, who deposited and redeemed several cashier's checks payable to himself and his exotic car company that contained $359,000 of the victim's money.

A victim impact statement from the Mississippi company was read at the sentencing hearing describing the effect the fraud had on the business, the release said [1]. We are not naming the company.

The people sentenced

Edikan Adiakpan, 35, Houston. Prosecutors said Adiakpan had temporary legal status in the United States at the time of his arrest and is originally from Nigeria. He pleaded guilty May 12 and was sentenced to 30 months [1].

Ayobami Omoniyi, 27. Described by prosecutors as another Nigerian national, Omoniyi was sentenced March 24 to 32 months in federal prison for his role in the scheme. His city was not given [1].

FBI Houston and its Bryan Resident Agency, along with IRS Criminal Investigation, investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Belinda Beek prosecuted it [1].

Why the "front company" matters

Business email compromise depends on two things: a convincing email, and a way to get the money out before anyone notices. The second part is where people like Adiakpan come in, according to prosecutors. A business that looks legitimate, such as a luxury or exotic car service, gives large, irregular payments a plausible cover story, and turning the money into cashier's checks moves it another step away from the victim.

The FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center describes BEC as "a sophisticated scam targeting both businesses and individuals performing a transfer of funds," often carried out after a legitimate email account is compromised "through social engineering or computer intrusion techniques" [2].

Red flags

• A known supplier suddenly has "new" bank details, or asks you to pay a different account "for this invoice only."
• The sender's address is almost right, off by one letter or using a different domain.
• Urgency: a past-due notice, a threat to stop shipments, or a request to skip normal approval steps.
• Requests that arrive only by email, with no matching phone call or letter from someone you know at the supplier.
• If you're asked to receive and forward money for others, for a fee, through your own business or accounts, you may be acting as a money mule, which can expose you to criminal charges.

What to do

1. Verify any change in payment instructions through a second channel, such as a phone number you already have on file, not one in the email. IC3 recommends using "secondary channels or two-factor authentication" to confirm such requests [2].
2. Check the sender's full email address, especially on a phone, where names can hide the real address [2].
3. If you've already paid, call your bank immediately to request a recall or reversal. Speed matters [2].
4. File a complaint at ic3.gov with as much banking detail as possible [2].
5. Never agree to move money for strangers, even if it's described as a payment-processing job or a business favor.

Case status (as of Oct. 20, 2026)

Defendant	Court	Status as of Oct. 20, 2026	Source
Edikan Adiakpan, 35, Houston	Federal, S.D. Tex.	Pleaded guilty May 12; sentenced to 30 months plus 3 years supervised release (announced Oct. 8, 2026)	[1]
Ayobami Omoniyi, 27	Federal, S.D. Tex.	Sentenced March 24 to 32 months	[1]

Statuses can change.

Sources

1. U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of Texas, "Nigerian national sentenced for role in email scam," Oct. 8, 2026. https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdtx/pr/nigerian-national-sentenced-role-email-scam
2. FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), "BEC" (accessed Oct. 20, 2026). https://www.ic3.gov/CrimeInfo/BEC

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