THE United States Attorney Susan Lehr has announced the extradition of Abiola Kayode, 37, from Ghana to the District of Nebraska, USA, in connection with an alleged $6 million cyber fraud indictment.
According to a statement released yesterday from the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Nebraska, Kayode, who was listed on the FBI’s Most Wanted Cyber Criminals list, is accused of participating in a business email compromise (BEC) scheme from January 2015 to September 2016.
This BEC scheme defrauded businesses in Nebraska and other locations of over $6 million. The case was filed in Omaha, Nebraska, in August 2019.
In April 2023, law enforcement in Ghana arrested Kayode following a U.S. request for his extradition. Ghanaian authorities granted the request and handed Kayode over to FBI agents, who transported him to Nebraska.
Kayode made his initial appearance on the indictment on December 11, 2024. U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael D. Nelson ordered that he remain detained pending trial.
The indictment alleges that Kayode’s co-conspirators impersonated executives from targeted companies using spoofed email accounts that appeared to come from legitimate business executives. They directed employees or recipients to complete wire transfers.
Believing the requests were authentic, business employees complied and wired funds as instructed by Kayode’s co-conspirators. It is alleged that Kayode provided bank account information to these co-conspirators, directing funds to accounts controlled by him and others.
The accounts primarily belonged to victims of internet romance scams, who were instructed by the co-conspirators to transfer funds to other accounts.
Several of Kayode’s co-conspirators have already been convicted and sentenced.
Adewale Aniyeloye, who sent the spoofed emails, was sentenced to 96 months in prison in February 2019 and ordered to pay $1,570,938.05 in restitution.
Pelumi Fawehinimi, a bank account facilitator, received a 72-month sentence in March 2019 and was ordered to pay $1,014,159.60 in restitution.
Onome Ijomone, involved in romance scams, was sentenced to 60 months in prison in January 2020 and ordered to pay $508,934.40 in restitution after being extradited from Poland.
Other co-conspirators remain at large, including Alex Ogunshakin, who was sentenced to 45 months in prison in October 2024 after being extradited from Nigeria.
“Four years ago, we identified six Nigerian nationals suspected of defrauding individuals 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 is clear: we are coming for you. Dismantling cybercriminal groups that victimize U.S. citizens is a priority for the FBI, DOJ, and our international law enforcement partners.”
The FBI, in collaboration with partners in Ghana, including the Office of the Attorney General and Ministry of Justice, Ghana Police Service – INTERPOL, and the Ghana Immigration Service, will continue to pursue and bring to justice those involved in Business Email Compromise and other fraud schemes.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with significant assistance from the Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs in securing Kayode’s extradition.
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