Notorious Nigerian cybercriminal tied to BEC scams extradited to U.S.

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Abiola Kayode, a 37-year-old Nigerian national, has been extradited from Ghana to the United States to face charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. 

Kayode, who was on the FBI’s Most Wanted cybercriminal list, is charged with participating in a business email compromise (BEC) scheme and romance fraud from January 2015 to September 2016, defrauding businesses of over $6 million. The scheme involved Kayode’s co-conspirators impersonating high-level executives and directing company employees to make fraudulent wire transfers. The funds were then diverted to accounts controlled by Kayode and others, many of which belonged to victims of romance scams.

The Treasury Department sanctioned Kayode and five others involved in the schemes in 2020. The sanctions block these individuals’ property and generally prohibit U.S. persons from conducting business with them. 

Several of Kayode’s alleged accomplices have already been sentenced. Adewale Aniyeloye received 96 months in prison, Pelumi Fawehinimi got 72 months, and Onome Ijomone was sentenced to 60 months for their roles in the scams. Another partner in crime, Alex Ogunshakin, was recently sentenced to 45 months following his extradition from Nigeria.

The Office of International Affairs at the Department of Justice played a significant role in securing Kayode’s extradition. The broader initiative, coordinated with the FBI, aims to combat the growing threat of cyber-enabled fraud schemes targeting vulnerable Americans. According to FinCEN, BEC fraud reports have skyrocketed, with attempts to steal nearly $9 billion from U.S. financial institutions since 2016.

It has been a busy month for the Justice Department’s focus on BEC scams. Last week, Okechuckwu Valentine Osuji, a 39-year-old Nigerian national, was sentenced to eight years in prison for running a business email compromise scheme from multiple countries, including the United States.

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