A 57-year-old Nigerian-born engineer based in the United States, Adebanjo “Banjo” Popoola, has pleaded guilty to diverting about $1.64 million meant for repairing dilapidated buildings into bank accounts controlled by himself and his family.

Popoola, a former building inspector with the City of St. Louis, Missouri, entered guilty pleas to three counts of wire fraud in a U.S. District Court on June 30.

According to prosecutors, he abused his position overseeing the city’s Stable Communities STL and Prop NS rehabilitation programmes by awarding contracts to two companies secretly linked to his family.

One company, Farst Construction LLC, was established by his sister, who lived in Texas and had never visited St. Louis, while the other, Premier Finish Contractors LLC, was owned by his future wife. Together, the companies received more than $3.3 million in city contracts, representing about 42% of all funds disbursed under one of the rehabilitation programmes.

Investigators said several of the projects were poorly executed or never completed, yet Popoola falsely certified them as finished, enabling the companies to receive full payment.

Authorities said Popoola, his wife and his sister shared approximately $1.64 million from the scheme, spending the money on mortgage payments, vehicle purchases and repairs, travel, casino gambling, dining, entertainment and his September 2023 wedding in Hawaii.

He also admitted to filing false city ethics disclosures by concealing his financial interests in the companies and falsely stating that he had no stake in city contracts.

Popoola is scheduled to be sentenced on October 6. He faces up to 20 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, and will be required to pay restitution. The case was investigated by the FBI.