Staff Report
WARSAW — An Indianapolis man was recently arrested for allegedly stealing over $100,000 in a phishing scam involving a Warsaw business.
Ademola Olufunso Adejala, 46, Indianapolis, is charged with theft where the value of the property is over $50,000, a level 5 felony.
On June 26, 2023, a Warsaw Police officer responded to Reichert & Knepp Wrecker Service regarding a fraud report. One of the business’s co-owners said he was looking to purchase a heavy wrecker he found on Facebook Marketplace.
According to court documents, the co-owner said he agreed to purchase a 1995 Peterbilt truck for $125,000. He then received an email showing incoming wire transfer instructions, but the account information was not filled out. The co-owner then emailed the individual who was selling the truck and told him he needed to put an account number on the wire transfer.
The officer noticed there was a slight difference in the email address for the individual the co-owner spoke with about the purchase, and the email address that sent the wire information.
On June 21, 2023, the co-owner went to a local bank and had $125,000 transferred to the account and routing numbers. After transferring the money, the co-owner asked the individual selling the truck if they received the payment, and the individual said they had not.
On June 22, 2023, the individual sent the co-owner a screenshot showing the correct bank and account numbers for the transfer. At that time, the co-owner knew he transferred the funds to an unknown account.
The co-owner went back to the bank on June 23, 2023, to attempt to stop the transfer. Bank staff said they would try to process the request, but were not certain the transfer could be stopped.
On July 6, 2023, a Warsaw detective’s subpoena was mailed to a bank in Indianapolis for all information related to the account number the co-owner sent a wire transfer to.
The results from the subpoena were received on Aug. 30, 2023. Information showed Adejala created a business account on Oct. 19, 2022. He made two cash withdrawals from the account on June 21, 2023.
Video surveillance from Adejala’s bank from June 21, 2023, showed Adejala receiving a cashier’s check in the amount of $86,300.
Adejala received funds into his business account that were stolen in a phishing scam from Reichert & Knepp’s co-owner. Adejala then withdrew that money the same day the wire transfer deposited into his bank account.
Adejala was booked in the Kosciusko County Jail on April 27, 2024, with an $11,000 surety and cash bond.
