Abiola Kayode, a 37-year-old Nigerian national and former FBI most wanted individual, has been extradited from Ghana to Nebraska, USA. This extradition follows a Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud Indictment filed in August 2019.
According to a statement released by the United States Attorney’s Office, District of Nebraska, Ghanaian authorities arrested Mr. Kayode before handing him over to FBI special agents. His transfer to Nebraska was in response to a formal US extradition request. Mr. Kayode made an initial court appearance on the Indictment on December 11, 2024. Magistrate Judge Michael D. Nelson ordered that he remain in custody pending trial.
Charges Against Abiola Kayode
The indictment alleges that from January 2015 to September 2016, Mr. Kayode participated in a business email compromise (BEC) scheme. This scheme allegedly defrauded businesses in Nebraska and other locations of more than $6 million. The indictment details that Mr. Kayode’s co-conspirators impersonated chief executive officers, presidents, owners, or other executives of targeted companies. They used spoofed email accounts designed to appear as though they originated from legitimate company executives. These emails directed business employees to execute wire transfers. Believing these requests to be authentic, employees complied with the instructions and wired the funds as directed.
The indictment further alleges that Mr. Kayode provided bank account information to his co-conspirators, who then used this information in the fraudulent emails to direct the transfer of funds to accounts controlled by Mr. Kayode and others. Many of these accounts belonged to victims of internet romance scams, who had been separately instructed by co-conspirators to transfer funds to these accounts.
Report From US Attorney’s Office
The US Attorney’s Office has reported that several of Mr. Kayode’s co-conspirators have already been convicted and sentenced. Adewale Aniyeloye, who sent the spoofed emails, received a 96-month prison sentence and was ordered to pay $1,570,938.05 in restitution in February 2019. Pelumi Fawehinimi, who facilitated the use of bank accounts, received a 72-month sentence and $1,014,159.60 in restitution in March 2019. Onome Ijomone, a romance scammer, was extradited from Poland and sentenced to 60 months’ imprisonment and ordered to pay $508,934.40 in restitution in January 2020. Alex Ogunshakin, another co-conspirator who provided bank accounts, was extradited from Nigeria and sentenced to 45 months’ imprisonment in October 2024. Additional co-conspirators remain at large.
FBI Omaha Special Agent in Charge Eugene Kowel stated, “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.”
The Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted the investigation. The Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs provided significant assistance in securing Mr. Kayode’s extradition.
Source: Punch
