The suspects face significant prison time in the U.S., with one already sentenced to nearly eight years in prison for money laundering.
Two Nigerian nationals have been transferred to the United States to face criminal charges related to a major money laundering and fraud conspiracy that targeted American citizens.
The U.S. Department of Justice confirmed that Oluwasegun Baiyewu, 40, was sentenced on August 27 to 95 months (7 years and 11 months) in prison for his role in laundering more than $3.1 million in proceeds from various fraud schemes targeting U.S. citizens .
Baiyewu led a conspiracy between May 2020 and October 2021 involving at least six co-conspirators in the U.S. and Nigeria. The group laundered illicit funds by purchasing salvaged cars and shipping them to West Africa . In one instance, Baiyewu laundered about $280,000 obtained from a business email compromise scheme against a Puerto Rican renewable energy company .
CDA News Nigeria gathered that this case was investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the FBI San Juan Cyber Task Force, and the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Inspector General .
FBI Extradites Nigerian Over Romance Scam
In a separate development, the FBI secured the extradition of Samuel Ugberaese from Nigeria to the United States to face prosecution for his alleged role in a transnational cyber romance fraud and money laundering scheme . Ugberaese was indicted by a U.S. federal grand jury on January 22, 2021 .
Prosecutors alleged that Ugberaese and his co-conspirators, including a naturalised U.S. citizen, Oluwadamilare Kolaogunbule, used romance scam techniques to manipulate victims into transferring money through a network of bank accounts linked to purported export companies . The suspect faces charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering, with a maximum penalty of 40 years in prison if convicted .
CDA News Nigeria reports that the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs, the FBI’s Legal Attaché office in Abuja, the Nigeria Police Force through INTERPOL, and the South African Police Service assisted in securing the arrest and extradition .
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