A 35-year-old Nigerian national, Lotenna Chisom Umeadi, has admitted to participating in a cyber fraud scheme that resulted in a loss of $158,400, pleading guilty to two counts of wire fraud in a United States federal court.
The plea was confirmed in an announcement by U.S. Attorney John A. Sarcone III and Erin Keegan, Special Agent in Charge of the Buffalo Field Office of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).
According to court documents, Umeadi confessed to purchasing a compromised webpage from a hacker, which he then used to illegally obtain email passwords of unsuspecting individuals. Using this access, he targeted employees of a produce export company in Sri Lanka and impersonated them in email correspondence with a produce importer in Plattsburgh, New York.
By posing as a legitimate representative of the Sri Lankan company, Umeadi sent deceptive emails instructing the New York importer to transfer payments to bank accounts in the United Kingdom under his control. In 2016, the importer wired two payments totaling $158,400, believing they were legitimate transactions.
Following an extensive investigation, Umeadi was apprehended in Germany on September 1, 2024, upon arrival from Nigeria. He was subsequently extradited to the United States to face legal proceedings.
Now convicted, Umeadi faces a maximum prison sentence of 20 years, a fine of up to $250,000, and three years of supervised release. His sentencing is scheduled for July 21, 2025, where a U.S. District Court judge will determine the final penalty based on federal guidelines and other factors. Upon completing his sentence, he will be deported from the United States.
