A 37-year-old Nigerian, Abiola Kayode, has been extradited from Ghana to Nebraska, United States, over his alleged involvement in a $6 million cyber fraud scheme.
He was arrested in Ghana in April 2023 and handed over to FBI agents following an official request from the U.S.
Kayode, who was on the FBI’s Most Wanted Cyber Criminal List, is accused of being part of a business email compromise (BEC) scheme between January 2015 and September 2016.
The scheme targeted businesses in Nebraska and other U.S. states, tricking employees into making fake wire transfers to accounts controlled by Kayode and his associates.
The BEC scam involved sending emails that appeared to be from company executives. Victims, believing the emails were genuine, transferred large sums of money, which were then funneled through bank accounts linked to Kayode. Some accounts belonged to victims of romance scams, who were manipulated into further transferring the stolen funds.
Kayode appeared in a Nebraska court on December 11, 2024, where Judge Michael D. Nelson ordered him to remain in detention until his trial.
Other members of the scheme have already faced justice:
– Adewale Aniyeloye: Sentenced in 2019 to eight years in prison and ordered to repay $1.57 million.
– Pelumi Fawehinimi: Received a six-year sentence in 2019 and was fined $1.01 million.
– Onome Ijomone: Extradited from Poland in 2020 and sentenced to five years, with restitution of $508,934.
– Alex Ogunshakin: Extradited from Nigeria and sentenced in October 2024 to nearly four years in prison.
The FBI praised the teamwork of Ghanaian law enforcement and international agencies in securing Kayode’s extradition. Eugene Kowel, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Omaha Division, stated:
“Dismantling cyber-criminal groups that victimize U.S. citizens is a priority for the FBI, DOJ, and our international law enforcement partners.”
U.S. authorities have vowed to pursue other suspects involved in the scheme.
