Nigerian man extradited to USA over $6M fraud

 

Abiola Kayode, a Nigerian fraudster, has been extradited to the United States to face charges related to his involvement in a $6 million wire fraud operation

This was confirmed by U.S. Attorney Susan Lehr.

Lehr stated that Kayode was extradited to the District of Nebraska on a Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud Indictment, filed in Omaha in August 2019. Kayode was arrested by law enforcement authorities in Ghana in April 2023, following a U.S. request for his extradition.

Ghanaian authorities granted the request, and Kayode was transferred to FBI agents who brought him to Nebraska. On December 11, 2024, Kayode appeared in court for his initial appearance, where Magistrate Judge Michael D. Nelson ordered him to remain detained pending trial.

Kayode, who had been on the FBI’s Most Wanted Cyber Criminal list, is accused of participating in a Business Email Compromise (BEC) scheme between January 2015 and September 2016. The scheme defrauded businesses in Nebraska and beyond, totaling over $6 million.

The indictment claims that Kayode’s co-conspirators impersonated executives of targeted companies through spoofed email accounts, instructing employees to wire money to accounts controlled by Kayode and his associates. Kayode allegedly provided the bank account details for the fraudulent transactions, which were routed through accounts owned by victims of internet romance scams.

Several co-conspirators involved in the scheme have already been convicted and sentenced. Adewale Aniyeloye, who sent the fraudulent emails, was sentenced to 96 months in prison and ordered to pay $1.57 million in restitution. Pelumi Fawehinimi, who facilitated bank accounts, received a 72-month sentence and $1.01 million in restitution.

Onome Ijomone, involved in romance scams, was sentenced to 60 months and ordered to pay $508,934.40 in restitution. Another co-conspirator, Alex Ogunshakin, who provided bank accounts, was sentenced to 45 months in October 2024 after his extradition from Nigeria.

FBI Omaha Special Agent in Charge Eugene Kowel emphasized that the investigation identified six Nigerian nationals behind the scheme, defrauding victims in Nebraska and other states. He warned that authorities will continue pursuing the remaining suspects, with the FBI and its international partners committed to dismantling cyber-criminal groups that target U.S. citizens.

The investigation was led by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with significant assistance from the Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs in securing Kayode’s extradition. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.