A 32-year-old Nigerian, Olusegun Adejorin, has been convicted by a U.S. federal court for defrauding two charitable organisations of over $7.5 million, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced on Saturday.
Adejorin, extradited from Ghana, was found guilty after a six-day trial in Maryland federal court on charges of wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, and unauthorized access to a protected computer.
The DOJ said Adejorin targeted charities in Maryland and New York between June and August 2020. Using spoofed email domains, he impersonated staff to manipulate financial transactions, redirecting funds to accounts unrelated to the charities.
“After a six-day trial, a federal jury convicted Olusegun Samson Adejorin, 32, a Nigerian national, of wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, and unauthorized access to a protected computer to obtain information.
Adejorin was previously extradited from Ghana in connection with the case,” the DOJ said in a statement.
According to investigators, Adejorin accessed employee email accounts and sent false confirmations to approve fund withdrawals, ultimately causing losses exceeding $7.5 million.
U.S. Attorney Kelly O. Hayes praised the FBI’s investigative work, while Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joshua Rosenthal and Darren S. Gardner handled the prosecution.
Adejorin now faces up to 20 years in prison for each of the five counts of wire fraud, five years for unauthorized computer access, and a mandatory two years for aggravated identity theft, to run consecutively. U.S. District Judge Theodore D. Chuang has scheduled sentencing for April 10, 2026.
The DOJ noted that federal sentences often fall below maximum penalties, depending on the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide DOJ initiative targeting immigration violations, organised crime, and violent offences.
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