Nigeria’s Chisom Umeadi arrested in Germany, extradited to U.S. for defrauding firm

A Nigerian man, Lotenna Chisom Umeadi has pleaded guilty to two counts of wire fraud, the United States Attorney’s Office announced on Thursday.

The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney John A. Sarcone III and Erin Keegan, Special Agent in Charge of the Buffalo Field Office of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

According to court documents, Umeadi admitted to engaging in a sophisticated email fraud scheme that targeted a Sri Lankan produce exporter and a U.S.-based importer.

Umeadi solicited and purchased a webpage from a hacker, enabling him to steal email passwords.

With this access, he infiltrated email accounts belonging to employees of the Sri Lankan produce exporter.

Posing as the company, he then sent fraudulent emails directing payments meant for the exporter to bank accounts in the United Kingdom, which he controlled.

As a result of these deceptive emails, in 2016, a produce importer based in Plattsburgh, New York, transferred a total of $158,400 to Umeadi’s accounts.

Authorities in Germany arrested Umeadi on September 1, 2024, upon his arrival from Nigeria. He was subsequently extradited to the United States to face charges.

Umeadi is set to be sentenced on July 21, 2025. He faces a maximum of 20 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, and up to three years of supervised release.

Following the completion of his sentence, Umeadi will be removed from the United States.

HSI is leading the investigation, while Assistant U.S. Attorney Douglas Collyer is prosecuting the case with support from the Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs.