Abiola Kayode, a Nigerian national listed on the FBI’s Most Wanted Cyber Criminals, has been extradited from Ghana to Nebraska, United States, to face charges related to a $6 million Business Email Compromise (BEC) scheme.
Kayode, 37, was apprehended by Ghanaian authorities in April 2023 following a conspiracy to commit wire fraud indictment filed against him in August 2019. After the U.S. submitted a formal extradition request, he was handed over to FBI special agents and transported to Nebraska, according to a statement released on Thursday by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Nebraska.
Kayode appeared in court on Wednesday, December 11, 2024, before United States Magistrate Judge Michael D. Nelson, who ordered his detention pending trial.
The indictment accuses Kayode of orchestrating a sophisticated BEC scheme between January 2015 and September 2016, targeting businesses in Nebraska and other states.
According to prosecutors, the scheme involved impersonating business executives in emails to deceive employees into making fraudulent wire transfers. These funds, sent to accounts controlled by Kayode and his associates, amounted to over $6 million.
Further investigations revealed that some of the bank accounts used to funnel the stolen money belonged to victims of internet romance scams, who were unwittingly manipulated into transferring the illicit funds.
The FBI noted that several of Kayode’s co-conspirators have already been prosecuted and sentenced:
• Adewale Aniyeloye: Sentenced in February 2019 to 96 months in prison and ordered to pay $1.57 million in restitution.
• Pelumi Fawehinmi: Sentenced in March 2019 to 72 months in prison with a restitution order of $1.01 million.
• Onome Ijomone: Extradited from Poland and sentenced in January 2020 to 60 months in prison, with restitution of $508,934.
• Alex Ogunshakin: Extradited from Nigeria and sentenced in October 2024 to 45 months in prison for providing bank accounts for the scheme.
Eugene Kowel, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Omaha Division, highlighted the agency’s commitment to dismantling cyber-criminal networks.
“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,” Kowel stated.
He vowed that the remaining members of the syndicate would be brought to justice.
“Our message to the remaining four co-conspirators: We are coming for you.”
Kowel praised the collaboration between U.S. and Ghanaian authorities, including Ghana’s Office of the Attorney General and Ministry of Justice, the Ghana Police Service – INTERPOL, and the Ghana Immigration Service.
“Dismantling cyber-criminal groups that victimize U.S. citizens is a priority for the FBI, DOJ, and our international law enforcement partners,” he added.
The FBI reaffirmed its commitment to working with international partners to combat BEC scams and other forms of cyber fraud. The case serves as a warning to cybercriminals globally that justice will be pursued relentlessly.
Kayode’s trial is expected to shed further light on the operations of the criminal syndicate and its impact on victims across the U.S.
