Abiola Kayode, a 37-year-old Nigerian on the FBI’s most wanted list, has been extradited from Ghana to Nebraska, U.S., following charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
The indictment, filed in August 2019, accuses Kayode of participating in a business email compromise (BEC) scheme that defrauded businesses of over $6 million between January 2015 and September 2016.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Nebraska, Kayode was apprehended in Ghana and handed over to FBI agents who facilitated his extradition. He made his initial court appearance on December 11, 2024, where Magistrate Judge Michael D. Nelson ordered his detention pending trial.
The indictment alleges that Kayode and his co-conspirators posed as executives of targeted companies, using spoofed email accounts to instruct employees to wire funds to accounts controlled by Kayode and others.
Many of these accounts belonged to victims of internet romance scams, who were further manipulated to transfer funds.
Several of Kayode’s co-conspirators have already been convicted and sentenced:
- Adewale Aniyeloye: Sentenced to 96 months in prison and ordered to pay $1.57 million in restitution.
- Pelumi Fawehinimi: Sentenced to 72 months in prison and ordered to pay $1.01 million in restitution.
- Onome Ijomone: Sentenced to 60 months in prison and ordered to pay $508,934.40 in restitution after extradition from Poland.
- Alex Ogunshakin: Sentenced to 45 months in prison following extradition from Nigeria.
While some co-conspirators remain at large, Kayode’s trial is expected to shed further light on the scale of the fraud and the involvement of other actors in the scheme.
“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.”
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs provided significant assistance in securing Kayode’s extradition.
