United States Attorney Susan Lehr has announced the extradition of Abiola Kayode, a 37-year-old Nigerian national, to the District of Nebraska. Kayode will face charges related to a Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud Indictment, which was filed in August 2019 in Omaha, Nebraska. Following his arrest in April 2023 by law enforcement authorities in the Republic of Ghana, Kayode was subsequently surrendered to FBI special agents. These agents then transported him to the District of Nebraska, where he made an initial appearance on the Indictment on December 11, 2024. United States Magistrate Judge Michael D. Nelson ordered Kayode to remain in custody pending trial.
Abiola Kayode, who was previously listed on the FBI’s Most Wanted Cyber Criminal List, allegedly played a significant role in a business email compromise (BEC) scheme. This scheme, which operated from January 2015 to September 2016, resulted in the loss of over $6 million for businesses in the District of Nebraska and other locations. As outlined in the indictment, Kayode’s co-conspirators adopted the identities of high-ranking executives within the targeted companies. Utilizing email accounts that mimicked those of legitimate business executives, these co-conspirators instructed employees to initiate wire transfers.
Employees, believing these requests to be genuine, complied with the instructions and transferred the funds as directed by Kayode’s co-conspirators. It is alleged that Kayode provided bank account information to facilitate these fraudulent transactions. The co-conspirators would then direct employees to transfer funds into accounts controlled by Kayode and other individuals involved in the scheme. Notably, many of these bank accounts belonged to unsuspecting victims of internet romance scams, who had been instructed by the co-conspirators to transfer funds into other accounts.
Several of Kayode’s co-conspirators have already been convicted and sentenced for their roles in the scheme. In February 2019, Adewale Aniyeloye, one of the individuals responsible for sending spoofed emails to targeted businesses, received a sentence of 96 months’ imprisonment. Additionally, Aniyeloye was ordered to pay $1,570,938.05 in restitution. Pelumi Fawehinimi, who facilitated the scheme by providing bank accounts, was sentenced to 72 months’ imprisonment in March 2019. Fawehinimi was also ordered to pay $1,014,159.60 in restitution.Onome Ijomone, another co-conspirator involved in the romance scam aspect of the scheme, received a sentence of 60 months’ imprisonment in January 2020. Ijomone was also ordered to pay $508,934.40 in restitution, following his successful extradition from Poland. Other co-conspirators involved in the scheme remain at large. However, in October 2024, Alex Ogunshakin, a co-conspirator who provided bank accounts for the scheme, was sentenced to 45 months’ imprisonment following his extradition from Nigeria.
“Four years ago, we identified six Nigerian nationals suspected of defrauding individual victims and businesses in Nebraska and other states of millions of dollars,” said FBI Omaha Special Agent in Charge Eugene Kowel. “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.”
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with significant assistance provided by the Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs in securing Kayode’s extradition. It is essential to note that an indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Source: https://www.justice.gov
