Kolade Akinwale Ojelade, a 34-year-old Nigerian national, was sentenced Nov. 1 to more than 26 years in prison for scamming prospective homeowners and others out of down payments using a “man-in-the-middle” email phishing and spoofing attack, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Texas.
Ojelade was extradited from the U.K. to the U.S. in April 2024 and three months later pleaded guilty to wire fraud. U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor also ordered Ojelade to pay $3,386,908 in restitution, the department says.
“Even the most conscientious among us could get taken in by a man-in-the-middle scam as devious as this one. Luckily, there are steps we can take to protect ourselves, including confirming wiring instructions in person or by phone,” said U.S. Attorney Leigha Simonton in a statement.
“For the next quarter-century, Mr. Ojelade will be behind bars, no longer able to scam innocent homebuyers. We are proud to hold him accountable for his crimes.”
According to the department, Ojelade sent phishing emails to various real estate businesses, gaining unauthorized access to their accounts and monitoring email traffic to determine when large transactions were scheduled.