Nigerian man extradited from Canada, sentenced to 10 years in U.S. federal court for obstruction of justice in multi-million dollar fraud case

A Nigerian citizen who had been living in Canada was on Monday, March 4, sentenced by U.S. federal court to 10 years in prison for obstructing justice in a multi-million dollar fraud case.

Michael Adefemi Adeyemo, also known as Adekunle Olufeni Adetiloye, was previously sentenced in 2012 in North Dakota to serve 17 years and six months for a multi-million dollar credit card fraud scheme involving more than 20 banks in the U.S., according to a Justice Department news release.

At the time, it was the largest credit card fraud suffered by US Bank and the Discover Card Bank in their histories.

Years after the 2012 sentencing, authorities discovered Adeyemo, 47, took steps to conceal his prior residency in the U.S. as a legal permanent resident, that he was a licensed attorney in Nigeria and that he was a fugitive with an outstanding warrant in California from 2001 for another fraud scheme.

A jury found him guilty of concealing this evidence from authorities to reduce his 2012 sentence.

Sentencing Adeyemo to 10 years in prison, District Judge Linda Reade in Iowa said Adeyemo showed a “callous disregard of the laws of the United States.”

“This case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. “The U.S. Postal Inspection Service has been and will always be relentless in the pursuit of facts throughout a criminal investigation,” said Bill Hedrick, Inspector in Charge of the Denver Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, which includes North Dakota. “Postal Inspectors know this and take great pride in their search to find the truth. Through the diligence of our Inspector and others in this case, we were able to bring the defendant to face justice for the full scope of his crimes,” said Hedrick. “We appreciate the dedicated effort of all those involved in this case, including the U.S. Postal Inspection Service Forensic Lab, and agents from Homeland Security Investigations.”