BISMARCK — A Nigerian man has been sentenced to nearly 12 years in federal prison for orchestrating a fraudulent scheme that defrauded a North Dakota law firm of nearly $200,000. Christopher Ndubuisi Agbaje, who was convicted of money laundering, wire fraud, and mail fraud, was sentenced to 142 months by North Dakota U.S. District Court Judge Daniel Traynor on Wednesday, Sept. 11.
The case came to light after a jury found Agbaje guilty in May of leading a “sophisticated scheme” to defraud a law firm in Mercer County, North Dakota, out of $198,337, along with an additional $195,500 from a Florida law firm. From November 2020 to January 2021, Agbaje and his co-conspirators posed as the president of a Florida company, Anthem Equipment Inc., falsely claiming to be engaged in a legal dispute with a Bismarck company. They used this false identity to create a fictitious attorney-client relationship, duping the North Dakota law firm.
“This strong sentence shows that international fraudsters cannot hide from justice,” said North Dakota U.S. Attorney Mac Schneider. “When North Dakotans are the victims of fraud, our prosecutors and law enforcement partners will work internationally to hold defendants accountable.”
Agbaje was extradited from the United Kingdom to face trial in North Dakota earlier this year. The prosecutors initially requested a 60-month sentence, while Agbaje’s attorney, Dane DeKrey, sought a lesser sentence of 37 months. However, the presentence investigation recommended a prison term of 57 to 71 months, with the final sentencing far exceeding these recommendations.