Nigerian man sentenced for scamming North Dakota law firm out of nearly $200,000

BISMARCK — A Nigerian man has been sentenced to almost 12 years in prison after he scammed a North Dakota law firm out of nearly $200,000.

North Dakota U.S. District Court Judge Daniel Traynor sentenced Christopher Ndubuisi Agbaje on Wednesday, Sept. 11, to 142 months in federal prison. The sentence comes after a jury found Agbaje guilty in May of money laundering, as well as aiding and abetting with wire and mail fraud.

“This strong sentence shows that international fraudsters cannot hide from justice,” North Dakota U.S. Attorney Mac Schneider said in a statement. “When North Dakotans are the victims of fraud, our prosecutors and law enforcement partners will work internationally to hold defendants accountable in a federal courtroom in Bismarck or Fargo.”

Agbaje and others formed a “sophisticated scheme” to defraud a law firm in Mercer County out of $198,337, as well as a Florida law firm out of $195,500, from November 2020 to January 2021, according to court documents. The group falsely claimed to be the president of a Florida company called Anthem Equipment Inc., according to court documents. The group claimed to be in a legal dispute with a Bismarck company and then started a “fictitious attorney-client relationship” with the North Dakota law firm, a news release said.

Court documents didn’t identify the law firms.

Agbaje was extradited from the United Kingdom to North Dakota

in February.

Prosecutors asked for 60 months in prison, while Agbaje’s attorney, Dane DeKrey, recommended 37 months, according to court documents. A presentence investigation report advised a sentence of 57 to 71 months, court documents said.

The Forum has reached out to DeKrey for comment but did not hear back from him by publishing time.