A Nigerian national, Lotenna Chisom Umeadi, has been extradited from Germany to the United States, where he has pleaded guilty to defrauding a Sri Lankan company of $158,400 through an elaborate email scam.
Umeadi was arrested by German authorities in September 2024 upon his arrival in the country.
His arrest was based on a warrant issued by U.S. authorities following an investigation by Homeland Security into his fraudulent activities.
After his extradition, he was charged with two counts of wire fraud but opted to cooperate with authorities and confess rather than face a jury trial.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of New York, Umeadi admitted to purchasing a webpage from a hacker, which allowed him to gain unauthorized access to email accounts. Using stolen passwords, he infiltrated the email system of a produce exporting company in Sri Lanka.
He then sent deceptive emails, posing as company officials, to mislead business partners into transferring payments into bank accounts he controlled in the United Kingdom.
This fraudulent scheme enabled him to siphon large sums of money, including $158,400, which a New York-based produce importer unwittingly wired to his UK accounts in 2016.
Umeadi now faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, and up to three years of supervised release. His sentencing is set for July.
