Serial Fraudster, Who Was a Fugitive for More Than 14 Years, Sentenced to More Than 12 Years in Federal Prison in Maryland for Bank Fraud and Conspiracy

Greenbelt, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Peter J. Messitte sentenced Adetubokun Adesioye age 45, formerly of Bladensburg, Maryland, to 153 months in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for bank fraud and bank fraud conspiracy.  Adesioye pleaded guilty to those federal charges in Maryland, which were part of two separate cases, on March 31, 2001, then fled the United States to Nigeria prior to sentencing.  Adesioye was a fugitive for 14 years before being arrested in 2019, as he arrived at JFK Airport in New York, New York. 

The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur and Special Agent in Charge Jennifer C. Boone of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office. 

According to his plea agreement, from approximately March to June 2000, Adesioye conspired with four bank tellers to defraud financial institutions.  Specifically, co-conspirator Dawn Hall provided information to Adesioye about various bank accounts, then arranged for other tellers to issue fraudulent bank checks from accounts of unsuspecting victims and give the checks to Adesioye and his accomplices.  Co-conspirators then forged signature on and deposited the fraudulent checks at financial institutions.  After depositing the checks, co-conspirators withdrew, and attempted to withdraw funds from the accounts.  The total face value of the fraudulent checks was $194,209.67.  Adesioye provided payment to Hall for her participation in the scheme and Hall passed on payments to the other teller co-conspirators.  Upon learning that one of the tellers had been arrested, Adesioye advised the teller to tear up the fraudulent checks and to tell law enforcement she did not know the person who asked her to get the checks.

As further detailed in his plea agreement, in a separate bank fraud in approximately October 1999, Adesioye also personally obtained counterfeit checks drawn on financial institutions with forged signatures, then arranged for the checks to be deposited into the bank accounts of others who agreed to allow Adesioye to use their bank accounts.  After the counterfeit checks were deposited, Adesioye arranged to withdraw the funds.  The total face value of these checks was $170,250.

Adesioye committed both the bank fraud and bank fraud conspiracy offenses while on supervised release for earlier convictions for bank fraud and assault on a federal officer in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

Adesioye admitted that he fled to Nigeria prior to sentencing, where he remained a fugitive for more than 14 years.  On October 23, 2019, Adesioye was arrested at JFK Airport and stated to officers that he was aware of his outstanding arrest warrant.  Adesioye has been detained since his arrest in October 2019.                   

United States Attorney Robert K. Hur praised the FBI for its work in the investigation.  Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer L. Wine, who prosecuted the case.

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