A Nigerian national has been sentenced to a decade behind bars for orchestrating a complex scheme that preyed on real estate transactions.
Babatunde Francis Ayeni, a 33-year-old Nigerian national was living in the United Kingdom at the time of his arrest. His operation leveraged a sophisticated business email compromise (BEC) strategy to intercept and exploit sensitive communications.
The primary target? Real estate professionals in the United States, including title companies, agents, and attorneys handling large financial transactions.
Over 400 people across the U.S. fell victim to the conspiracy, with 231 losing a total of $19,599,969.46 after failing to reverse wire transactions in time.
Ayeni, alongside co-conspirators based in Nigeria and the United Arab Emirates, executed their plan by sending phishing emails embedded with malicious links and attachments.
The emails were crafted to deceive recipients into divulging sensitive information, allowing the criminals to redirect substantial sums of money by altering banking details in transactional communications.
United States Attorney Sean P. Costello said, “Cyber-enabled crimes can cause substantial and lasting harm to victims in an instant,”
“Criminals across the world may believe that they are causing no harm to their victims and that they are safe behind their keyboards, but this case proves otherwise.”
“With our law enforcement partners, we will continue to aggressively investigate, pursue, and hold accountable the crooks who perpetrate frauds online, wherever they are.” he said.
Case is a stark warning to businesses, particularly small businesses often lacking robust cybersecurity measures.
As cybercriminals refine their methods, the importance of proactive security protocols, employee training, and advanced threat detection systems cannot be overstated. For the victims of Ayeni’s scheme, the cost was devastating—life savings vanished with the click of a mouse.
Paul Brown, Special Agent in Charge of the Mobile Division of the FBI, said, “This type of behavior will not be tolerated in Alabama,”
“After listening to our citizens speak about how the loss of funds impacted their lives, and the subsequent loss of what they thought was down payments for their future homes, I am pleased to see Ayeni receive a substantial sentence for these crimes,” he said,
Captured Login Credentials
“If an employee at a targeted real estate business clicked on the malicious link or attachment, they were prompted to enter their e-mail account login information,” according to the Southern District of Alabama US Attorney’s Office.
“The employee’s login credentials were captured and sent to e-mail accounts controlled by Ayeni and other co-conspirators.”
With the login credentials in hand, the plotters would access the email accounts and determine when a buyer was scheduled to make a payment as part of a real estate transaction.
Ayeni and his fellow conspirators impersonated the agents, swapped bank accounts with ones in their control, sent e-mails from the compromised e-mail accounts and instructed the buyers to wire the money. Unsuspecting buyers would comply, some sending over their life’s savings for the fictious purchase of a new home.
Victims In Shock
During the multi-day sentencing hearing, some 20 victims appeared before Judge Terry Moorer to describe the harrowing situation they’d found themselves in.
In addition to those who spoke in court, many others provided written impact statements, “noting that in addition to losing all of the money they saved for the purchase of a new home, they felt significant shame, despair, and depression due to being victimised the way they were,” according to the DOJ press release.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation with assistance from law enforcement partners in the United Kingdom and elsewhere.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Bodnar prosecuted the case on behalf of the United States. Substantial assistance was also provided by Amanda Chadwick and Rachel Yasser with the Department of Justice Office of International Affairs
Ayeni pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud in April of 2024 and will now spend the next 10 years behind bars.
His two associates, identified by the DOJ as co-defendants Feyisayo Ogunsanwo and Yusuf Lasisi, remain at-large and are believed to be outside the United States. Authorities are seeking their arrest and extradition.
