The case offers an in-depth look at a rising threat to banks and credit unions: identity theft used to steal from customers' home equity lines of credit.

A two-and-a-half-week trial exposed Adekoya as the ringleader of a sophisticated nationwide operation that defrauded financial institutions across the United States and ended with a jury finding him guilty on all 11 counts.

The fraud scheme: Targeting HELOCs and impersonation

From November 2021 to December 12, 2023, Adekoya orchestrated a sweeping scheme to steal identities, impersonate customers and take money from their accounts, resulting in over $1.5 million in actual losses and nearly $3 million in attempted losses, attorneys for the Department of Justice alleged.

His targets included a network of credit unions, such as Cap Com Federal Credit Union (now Broadview Federal Credit Union) in Albany.

Adekoya, operating from his apartment in New Jersey, focused on obtaining publicly available information, particularly regarding individuals' home equity lines of credit (HELOCs) at local credit unions with substantial equity.

Specifically, during the trial, the government presented evidence related to CoreLogic records. CoreLogic sells marketing data about homeowners, including transaction, lien and vesting information, according to the company.

Adekoya utilized encrypted messaging platforms like Telegram and WhatsApp to acquire personally identifiable information (PII), including Social Security numbers, account numbers, and mothers' maiden names, for these identified victims.

To execute the fraud, Adekoya supplied his network of managers and lower-level "runners" with fake driver's licenses bearing victims' PII but displaying photographs of the runners themselves.

He and his chief lieutenants — co-defendants David Daniyan and Kani Bassie, along with other managers like Davon Hunter, Christian Quivers, and Jermon Brooks — coached these runners on how to impersonate victims and fraudulently withdraw cash, obtain advances on credit and secure checks from victims' accounts.

Drivers, including Akeem Balogun and Jerjuan Joyner, transported the runners to financial institutions nationwide. Adekoya strategically shifted his focus geographically to evade law enforcement scrutiny.

Money laundering: Concealing ill-gotten gains

Adekoya also ran a money laundering conspiracy with David Daniyan and others. They used bank accounts under other individuals' names to launder their significant share of the fraud proceeds, according to prosecutors.

Adekoya also reinvested some of the stolen funds back into the criminal enterprise, purchasing air and bus travel for co-conspirators, fake driver's licenses, and rental cars used to transport workers to credit unions.

For example, one affidavit detailed Zelle transfers between Adekoya's spouse and Daniyan's spouse in 2023 that correlated with communications about moving fraud proceeds.

Evidence and conviction

Law enforcement initiated its investigation in May 2022, following a series of impersonation transactions identified by Broadview Federal Credit Union in Albany.

The investigation uncovered Adekoya's role as the operation's mastermind. Adekoya is also known by aliases such as "Ace G.," "BRODA," "SANTA," "Sammy LaBanco," and "Kiing_maison."

The government presented evidence at trial that included over 60 witnesses and revealed Adekoya's extensive use of "burner" phones and over 40,000 encrypted text and voice communications with co-conspirators to plan and oversee the fraud.

Adekoya, a career fraudster according to prosecutors, has a history of increasingly sophisticated identity-fraud convictions dating back to 2008, when he was 23 years old. Despite this, he had never been removed from the country, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of New York.

When the FBI executed a federal search warrant at Adekoya's apartment on December 12, 2023, he wiped the primary phone he used to orchestrate the conspiracy.

However, agents seized numerous other "burner" phones used for the crimes, along with hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of luxury merchandise, including Rolex watches, a $51,000 Tiffany engagement ring, and designer items. They also seized approximately $26,000 from a bank account used by Adekoya for laundering.

Thirteen additional co-conspirators in the scheme, including David Daniyan, Kani Bassie, Davon Hunter, Christian Quivers and Jermon Brooks, have already pleaded guilty for their involvement.

Adekoya represented himself during the trial — a so-called pro se defense — after using three different layers and firing them all. He had stand-by counsel present for him throughout the trial. He did not testify.

Adekoya's sentencing is scheduled for October 30, 2025, before the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York.

He faces a mandatory minimum of two years' incarceration and a maximum of 32 years' incarceration, along with restitution, forfeiture of criminal proceeds and up to five years of supervised release. He is also subject to removal and deportation to his home country, Nigeria, following his sentence.

HELOC fraud via identity theft: Part of a larger trend

HELOCs are becoming significant fraud targets due to the record levels of accrued home equity wealth, which as of June stood at $11.5 trillion according to ICE Mortgage Technology. This increased availability of funds makes HELOCs attractive to criminals.

Bridget Berg, a principal at Cotality, recently told National Mortgage News — a sister publication of American Banker — that "identity fraud is a little bit more of a risk on home equity loans" compared to first-lien mortgages. This directly aligns with Adekoya's methods, since he relied heavily on impersonating HELOC customers.

Personal information, much of which is readily available online, especially with respect to homeowners, contributes heavily to fraudsters' ability to misrepresent themselves as homeowners with HELOC loans — just as Adekoya did.

Ashley Goodsell, a senior fraud investigator at Centris Federal Credit Union, told Mortgage News Today that customer-facing employees often serve as the "best line of defense" against HELOC fraud, noting that "unusual behavior should raise warnings."

She also highlighted the importance of information-sharing networks among peer institutions and internal red-flag escalation programs.

In Adekoya's case, Broadview Federal Credit Union identified a series of impersonation transactions at its branches and referred the case to the FBI, according to prosecutors. This ultimately led to the discovery of Adekoya and demonstrates how financial institutions can help uncover and stop such operations.