A Nigerian-born U.S. citizen, Oladapo Fadugba, is staring down a possible 27-year prison sentence after being indicted in the United States for allegedly orchestrating a brazen $690,000 wire fraud scheme and lying under oath to gain American citizenship.
In a fiery statement released Wednesday, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Florida, Gregory Kehoe, revealed that Fadugba is facing multiple charges, including wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, and false declarations during his naturalisation.
According to the indictment, between October 2020 and July 2023, Fadugba allegedly siphoned hundreds of thousands of dollars earmarked for the Department of Veterans Affairs — funds meant to reimburse a major healthcare provider — into accounts he controlled.
Prosecutors say he pulled off the scam by stealing another person’s identity, funnelling the cash into a web of personal and business accounts, and writing cheques to himself.
Even more shocking, investigators allege Fadugba lied under oath during his naturalisation process, falsely claiming he had never committed a crime for which he hadn’t been arrested.
If convicted on all counts,” Kehoe stated, “Fadugba faces up to 27 years in federal prison and could lose $400,000 in assets tied to the alleged fraud.”
The explosive case comes just days after another Nigerian national, 24-year-old Mercy Ojedeji, pleaded guilty in a U.S. court to wire fraud and faking documents to illegally secure a student visa and a place in the University of Missouri’s chemistry PhD program.
Ojedeji admitted to using bogus transcripts, fake references, and a falsified English test score to pull off the scam.
As both cases make headlines, U.S. authorities are sounding the alarm over a worrying rise in high-stakes immigration and financial fraud cases involving international actors.
Kehoe was quick to remind the public: “An indictment is only a formal accusation. Every defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty in court.”
