A federal jury in North Dakota has found Nigerian citizen Christopher Agbaje, 40, guilty of money laundering, aiding and abetting wire fraud, and aiding and abetting mail fraud.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Agbaje was part of a sophisticated scheme to defraud a North Dakota law firm out of $198,336.68 between November and December 2020.
The scheme involved individuals falsely posing as a business owner in a legal dispute with a Bismarck, North Dakota, company and entering into a fictitious attorney-client relationship with the law firm.
Through email communications, these individuals made false statements and promises upon which the law firm relied to their detriment.
The law firm received a parcel containing a fraudulent Citibank check payable to the firm in the amount of $198,850.00 and deposited it into their bank account.
Agbaje then directed his business partner to fraudulently initiate a $180,000.00 international wire transfer to conceal the location, ownership, and control of the law firm’s money.
“Our determined career prosecutors and their law enforcement partners will cross oceans to bring international fraudsters to justice when they target North Dakota,” said U.S. Attorney Mac Schneider.
“The FBI will aggressively investigate individuals, like Christopher Agbaje, who engage in fraudulent schemes at the expense of the American public,” said FBI Special Agent Alvin M. Winston Sr. of the Minneapolis office.
The District Court will schedule Agbaje’s sentencing hearing for a date and time to be determined.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jonathan J. O’Konek and Nick Baker.
The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs provided substantial assistance with securing the arrest and extradition of Agbaje.
Agbaje was extradited to North Dakota from the United Kingdom after being charged with multiple counts of wire and mail fraud.
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Key Facts
- State: North Dakota
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: White Collar Crime
- Source: Official Source ↗
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