By Kolawole Ojebisi
A Nigerian, Abiola Kayode, has been extradited from Ghana to Nebraska, United States.
Kayode, who is 37-year-old, had been on the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Most Wanted Cyber Criminal List for years, before his apprehension and subsequent extradition.
This development followed a conspiracy to commit wire fraud indictment filed against him in August 2019.
The Nigerian’s arrest was confirmed in a statement by the United States Attorney’s Office, District of Nebraska on Thursday.
This statement noted that Kayode was arrested in April 2023 by Ghanaian authorities.
After a formal U.S. request for extradition, he was handed over to FBI special agents who brought him to Nebraska.
He appeared in court on December 11, 2024, before United States Magistrate Judge Michael D. Nelson, who ordered his detention pending trial.
Kayode is accused of participating in a business email compromise scheme between January 2015 and September 2016 that defrauded businesses in Nebraska and other states of over $6 million.
The BEC scheme involved impersonating business executives to trick employees into making fraudulent wire transfers.
These emails, designed to appear legitimate, convinced businesses to transfer large sums of money to accounts controlled by Kayode and his associates.
Authorities claim that Kayode provided bank account details used to funnel illicit funds. Many of these accounts belonged to victims of internet romance scams who were manipulated into transferring the stolen money further.
Several of Kayode’s co-conspirators have already been brought to justice. In February 2019, Adewale Aniyeloye was sentenced to 96 months in prison and ordered to pay $1.57 million in restitution.
In March 2019, Pelumi Fawehinimi received a 72-month sentence and was ordered to pay $1.01 million.
Another co-conspirator, Onome Ijomone, was extradited from Poland and sentenced in January 2020 to 60 months in prison with restitution of $508,934.
Alex Ogunshakin, a co-conspirator who provided bank accounts for the scheme, was sentenced to 45 months’ imprisonment in October 2024 after his successful extradition from Nigeria.
Speaking in a statement, FBI Omaha Special Agent in Charge Eugene Kowel said, “Four years ago, we identified six Nigerian nationals suspected of defrauding individual victims and businesses in Nebraska and other states of millions of dollars.
“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 victimize 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.”
Recall that four years ago, a Nigerian Instagram scamster, Raymond Abbas, also known as Hushpuppi, was handed over to the United States’ FBI by the Dubai Police for a trial over cybercrime.
