In yet another shameful blow to Nigeria’s image abroad, five Nigerians have been unmasked as the brains behind an international fraud ring that milked Americans of millions of dollars , from romance scams to COVID-19 unemployment relief and business email compromise.
A U.S. federal jury in Puerto Rico has now convicted the fifth defendant, Oluwasegun Baiyewu, 37, of Richmond, Texas, after a marathon 22-day trial. He joins his fellow conspirators Oluwaseun Adelekan, 40, and Temitope Omotayo, 40, both of Staten Island, New York; Ifeoluwa Dudubo, 37, of Austin, Texas; and Temitope Suleiman, 37, also of Richmond, Texas — in disgrace.
The gang laundered proceeds from an array of criminal ventures: fake online romances targeting lonely hearts, pandemic unemployment insurance scams that preyed on a global tragedy, and sophisticated email hacks that drained U.S. businesses.
According to U.S. prosecutors, the syndicate ran hundreds of financial transactions to “wash” the loot, buying used cars and shipping them back to Nigeria in a cynical attempt to convert fraud into flashy wealth.
This conviction is a message to transnational organized crime groups and their accomplices: you cannot victimize Americans with impunity, declared Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate of the U.S. Justice Department.
The U.S. Attorney for Puerto Rico, Stephen Muldrow, did not mince words either: The defendants lined their pockets by defrauding vulnerable members of our society. Justice will prevail.
The FBI and U.S. Postal Inspection Service described the Nigerians as “key service providers for cyber scammers, warning that the game is up for anyone who thinks they can hide in the shadows of the internet.
The disgraced five will now face sentencing before Judge Raúl M. Arias-Marxuach of the District of Puerto Rico, where they risk long prison terms.
