Edikan Adiakpan: Popular Texas-Based Businessman Jailed 30 Months for Moving Fraud Money via Company

• A US court sentenced Edikan Adiakpan, founder of Houston luxury firm Akama Lifestyle, to 30 months in federal prison
• Adiakpan used his company's accounts as a conduit for fraudsters between 2020 and 2022, pocketing a cut of the illicit transfers
• Investigators found that $359,000 from victims passed through Adiakpan's hands via cashier's cheques linked to his exotic car business

A Houston-based Nigerian businessman has been handed a 30-month federal prison sentence after a court found he funnelled hundreds of thousands of dollars stolen from fraud victims through his luxury transportation company.

Edikan Adiakpan, 35, the founder of Akama Lifestyle, a high-end car service and lifestyle concierge outfit based in Houston, Texas, was sentenced on Thursday, 8 October 2026, by District Judge Andrew Hanen.

The Nigerian businessman's sentence is to be followed by three years of supervised release.

Akama Lifestyle as cover for illicit transfers

Adiakpan had previously been convicted in May on charges related to his role in facilitating a business email compromise scheme.

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According to the US Department of Justice in a press release, he operated as a money mule, known in Nigerian street parlance as a "picker", receiving funds stolen from fraud victims and passing them along to the perpetrators while retaining a commission for himself.

The DOJ said Adiakpan used Akama Lifestyle, which he publicly advertised as a legitimate luxury car hire service, to mask these transactions between 2020 and 2022.

The scheme targeted more than 10 victims, and investigators established that he deposited and redeemed cashier's cheques made out to himself and his company totalling $359,000 of victims' money.

The fraudsters sent “spoofed” emails that appeared to come from known suppliers and creditors, deceiving victims into sending payments to bank accounts the fraudsters controlled instead of the actual suppliers.

One victim, a small utility trailer company in Mississippi, provided a victim impact statement that was read at the sentencing hearing about the effect this fraud had on their company.

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According to the individual, his company was deceived into wiring money they thought was to their trailer supplier, including $927,080 wired to the Houston fraudsters, who then sent portions of those proceeds to Adiakpan.

"The funds Adiakpan received and transmitted originated from fraudsters who carried out a business email compromise scheme targeting more than 10 victims," the DOJ stated.

Another US-based Nigerian national, Ayobami Omoniyi, 27, was sentenced March 24 to 32 months in federal prison for his role in the scheme.

Temporary legal status at time of arrest

Investigators also confirmed that Adiakpan held temporary legal status in the United States at the time of his arrest, meaning he was permitted to be in the country but had no permanent residency protections.

The case was brought by the US Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Texas. Adiakpan's sentencing marks the conclusion of a prosecution that exposed how legitimate-looking businesses can be weaponised as financial pipelines for online fraud networks.

The Instagram post detailing Edikan Adiakpan's imprisonment is below:

FBI arrests 130 scammers in Ghana

Earlier, YEN.com.gh about the FBI’s Operation Blackout in Ghana, where more than 130 people were arrested or detained and investigators identified nearly US$10 million in losses linked to 89 victims.

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Some of those detained may themselves be victims of smuggling, while the FBI warned scam networks are shifting from Southeast Asia to Africa as enforcement pressure grows.

Source: YEN.com.gh