A 37-year-old Nigerian man, Abiola Kayode, who was listed on the FBI’s Most Wanted Cyber Criminals List, has been extradited from Ghana to Nebraska, United States.
Kayode faces charges stemming from a conspiracy to commit wire fraud indictment filed against him in August 2019.
The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Nebraska announced on Thursday that Ghanaian authorities arrested Kayode in April 2023.
Following a formal extradition request by the U.S., he was transferred to FBI special agents and brought to Nebraska.
On December 11, 2024, Kayode appeared before United States Magistrate Judge Michael D. Nelson, who ordered his detention pending trial.
Kayode is accused of involvement in a business email compromise (BEC) scheme between January 2015 and September 2016.
The scheme, which targeted businesses in Nebraska and other states, allegedly defrauded victims of over $6 million by impersonating executives and deceiving employees into authorizing fraudulent wire transfers.
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Emails crafted to appear legitimate deceived businesses into transferring significant sums of money to accounts controlled by Kayode and his network. Authorities allege that Kayode supplied the bank account details used to channel these illicit funds. Many of these accounts were tied to victims of internet romance scams, who were manipulated into further transferring the stolen money. Several of Kayode’s accomplices have already faced 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 prison sentence and was ordered to pay $1.01 million.
Onome Ijomone, extradited from Poland, was sentenced in January 2020 to 60 months in prison and ordered to pay $508,934 in restitution.
In October 2024, Alex Ogunshakin, who provided bank accounts for the operation, was sentenced to 45 months in prison following his 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.”
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