ALBANY, N.Y. – Oluwaseun Adekoya, who operated using numerous aliases, has been convicted of a criminal conspiracy that hit a number of credit unions through home equity loan fraud.

Adekoya has been convicted by a jury of bank fraud conspiracy, money laundering conspiracy, and nine counts of aggravated identity theft for his role as the mastermind of a nationwide conspiracy to steal identities and impersonate customers at banks and credit unions throughout the United States.  

According to the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of New York, more than 60 witnesses were called by the government during the trial, which lasted two and a half weeks.  

‘Career Fraudster’

“Proof at trial established that from the comfort of his luxury apartment in New Jersey, Adekoya, a career fraudster, obtained publicly available information regarding people’s home equity lines of credit at localized credit unions throughout the United States, shifting his focus over time to different parts of the country to avoid law enforcement scrutiny,” the U.S. Attorney said in a statement.  He then utilized encrypted messaging platforms, like Telegram, to obtain Social Security numbers, account numbers, mother’s maiden names, and other personal identifying information (“PII”) for individuals he had identified as having substantial amounts of equity available in their HELOCs.

‘Vast Web of Managers’

“Adekoya then recruited a vast web of managers located all over the country, who he supplied this information to, along with fake driver’s licenses for lower-level workers to use to impersonate the HELOC customers and conduct withdrawal transactions on their accounts,” the U.S. Attorney’s statement continued. “To insulate himself from detection, Adekoya utilized a web of “burner” phones and encrypted messaging applications and laundered his substantial share of the proceeds through bank accounts in other people’s names.  Adekoya also reinvested some of the proceeds into continuing the fraud scheme by purchasing air and bus travel for coconspirators, fake driver’s licenses, and rental cars used to drive workers to credit unions.”

As set forth in pretrial pleadings, Adekoya – who was admitted to the United States as a Lawful Permanent Resident in 2000 – has been convicted of numerous increasingly sophisticated identity-fraud related felonies since he was 23 years old in 2008.  He has never been removed from the country.

CUs Alert FBI

According to the U.S. attorney, the  investigation into Adekoya began in May 2022, when Broadview Federal Credit Union (formerly CAP COM Federal Credit Union and State Employees Federal Credit Union (SEFCU)), headquartered in Albany, identified a series of impersonation transactions at its branches in the Capital Region and referred the case to the FBI-Albany.  The ensuing investigation led to the discovery of Adekoya as the mastermind of the nationwide operation and the prosecution of 13 additional coconspirators, all of whom have pled guilty for their roles in the offenses, the U.S. Attorney said.

‘Screeching Halt’

“The defendant’s conspiracies were brought to a screeching halt by his federal arrest on an initial indictment on December 12, 2023,” the U.S. Attorney said. “He has since been detained and the government twice superseded the indictment to add additional coconspirators and charges.  Evidence at trial showed that when the FBI attempted to enter the defendant’s luxury apartment on December 12, 2023, to execute a federal search warrant, Adekoya wiped the primary phone he had used to orchestrate the conspiracy.

“Nonetheless, the FBI seized numerous “burner” phones used by Adekoya to perpetrate the charged crimes,” the statement continued. “The FBI also seized of hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of luxury merchandise, including Rolex watches, a $51,000 Tiffany engagement ring, and designer handbags and shoes, and approximately $26,000 in a bank account used by the defendant to launder his proceeds.  Those items have since been forfeited by the government.”

Sentencing Set

Adekoya’s sentencing is scheduled for October 30, 2025, before the Honorable Mae A. D’Agostino, U.S. District Judge. He faces a mandatory minimum of two years’ incarceration, a maximum of 32 years’ incarceration, restitution, forfeiture of the fruits of his offenses, up to five years of supervised release, and is subject to removal and deportation following his sentence.

More than a dozen other co-defendants have also pled guilty.