Los Angeles Man Arrested, Charged With Defrauding Two Electronics Businesses

CONTACT: Barbara Burns
PHONE: (716) 843-5817
FAX #: (716) 551-3051

BUFFALO, N.Y.- U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy, Jr. announced today that a federal grand jury has returned an indictment charging Shola Yusuf Adediji a/k/a Michael Kopeck, 37, of Los Angeles, CA, with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and wire fraud. The charges carry a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul E. Bonanno, who is handling the case, stated that according to the indictment, between May and August 2019, the defendant conspired with others to defraud two electronics businesses (Business 1 and Business 2), one in Amherst, NY, and one in Fort Meyers, Florida, to obtain high-end electronic merchandise. Adediji and others posed as potential customers of the businesses and submitted fraudulent purchase orders. During the course of the scheme, Business 1 and Business 2 shipped merchandise to Adediji and others at various locations in the United States. The defendant used the fictitious name “Michael Kopeck” to rent a storage unit for the fraudulently obtained merchandise, which included 10 televisions 82-inch televisions.

The defendant will be arraigned today at 1:00 p.m. before U.S. Magistrate Judge H. Kenneth Schroeder, Jr.

The indictment is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Stephen Belongia.

The fact that a defendant has been charged with a crime is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.

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