Prince Boateng Adjei, a 31-year-old resident of Lawrenceville, Georgia, has admitted to committing wire fraud that resulted in the theft of over $1 million from a business located in Gilmer County, West Virginia. The admission was made in Clarksburg, West Virginia.
Court documents and statements revealed that Adjei collaborated with another defendant, Chisom Okonkwo, to execute a business email compromise scheme. They created an email impersonating an employee from the Gilmer County business, engaging in what is known as "spoofing." This fraudulent activity led an unsuspecting individual to transfer more than $1 million into a bank account controlled by Adjei and Okonkwo. The pair spent over $600,000 of these funds before their scheme was uncovered.
Chisom Okonkwo entered a guilty plea earlier this month and awaits sentencing.
As part of his plea agreement, Adjei has agreed to pay restitution amounting to $610,146.03 and faces a potential prison sentence of up to 20 years. A federal district court judge will decide on the sentence after evaluating the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines along with other statutory factors.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jarod Douglas for the government. The investigation was conducted by the United States Secret Service under the supervision of U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael John Aloi.