A NIGERIAN national, Abiola Kayode, 37, has been extradited to the United States to face charges in connection with a business email compromise (BEC) scheme that allegedly defrauded businesses in Nebraska and other US states of over $6 million.
The fraud was said to have occurred between January 2015 and September 2016, with millions siphoned from businesses across multiple states.
Kayode was arrested in Ghana in April 2023 following a U.S. extradition request, with Ghanaian authorities, including the Office of the Attorney General and Ministry of Justice, granting the request, which eventually led to his transfer to the United States.
According to a statement by the United States Attorney’s Office in the District of Nebraska, on Thursday, December 12, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) special agents accompanied Kayode to Nebraska, where he made an initial court appearance on December 11, 2024, before a magistrate judge, Michael Nelson.
The judge consequently ordered the accused to remain in custody pending trial.
According to the indictment filed in August 2019, Kayode and his co-conspirators carried out the scheme by spoofing email accounts to impersonate high-ranking executives of targeted companies.
Using these fraudulent accounts, they allegedly instructed employees to wire large sums of money to bank accounts controlled by the conspirators, with many of these accounts reportedly belonging to victims of romance scams, who were deceived into transferring the stolen funds further.
The statement noted that the FBI had been pursuing the case for years, with some of Kayode’s co-conspirators already convicted and sentenced.
“Some of Kayode’s co-conspirators have already been convicted and sentenced. Adewale Aniyeloye, one of the fraudsters sending the spoofed e-mails to the target business, was sentenced in February 2019 to 96 months’ imprisonment and ordered to pay $1,570,938.05 in restitution.
“Pelumi Fawehinimi, a bank account facilitator, was sentenced in March 2019 to 72 months imprisonment and ordered to pay $1,014,159.60 in restitution. Onome Ijomone, a romance scammer, was sentenced in January 2020 to 60 months’ imprisonment and ordered to pay $508,934.40 in restitution after his successful extradition from Poland,” the statement added.
It said one Alex Ogunshakin, a co-conspirator who provided bank accounts for the scheme, was also sentenced to 45 months’ imprisonment in October 2024 after his successful extradition from Nigeria.
The US government stressed that other co-conspirators remained at large.
Speaking about the extradition, FBI Omaha special agent in charge, Eugene Kowel, reiterated the agency’s determination to bring all perpetrators to justice.
“Today, Abiola Kayode is the second of those co-conspirators to be extradited to stand trial in Nebraska. Our message to the remaining four co-conspirators: we are coming for you.
“Dismantling cyber-criminal groups that victimise U.S. citizens is a priority for the FBI, DOJ, and our international law enforcement partners. The FBI, working together with our partners in Ghana, particularly the Office of the Attorney General and Ministry of Justice, the Ghana Police Service – INTERPOL, and the Ghana Immigration Service, will continue to pursue and bring to justice criminals who engage in business email compromise and other fraud schemes.”
Several Nigerians living abroad have been accused of fraud, while others have received jail sentences in recent years for various crimes.
On October 12, The ICIR reported that a Nigerian man in the United States, Oludayo Adeagbo, bagged seven-year jail term for his involvement in a business email breach plot involving millions of dollars.
The US Department of Justice in a statement noted that Adeagbo attempted to steal over $3 million from victim entities in Texas by participating in various cyber-enabled BEC schemes.
Also, in August 2024, The ICIR reported that four Nigerians were jailed for helping people live in the UK after being convicted of forging over 2,000 marriage certificates.
The convicts, identified as Abraham Alade Olarotimi Onifade, 41, Abayomi Aderinsoye Shodipo, 38, Nosimot Mojisola Gbadamosi, 31, and Adekunle Kabir, 54, were all sentenced at Woolwich Crown Court in London.
According to the UK Home Office, the four convicts were members of a criminal group involved in carrying out fraudulent EU Settlement Scheme applications for Nigerian nationals.
Between March 2019 and May 2023, they were caught with several criminal operations including providing fake Nigerian customary marriage certificates among other fraudulent documentation to help people illegally remain in the UK.
Usman Mustapha is a solution journalist with International Centre for Investigative Reporting. You can easily reach him via: umustapha@icirnigeria.com. He tweets @UsmanMustapha_M