A 37-year-old Nigerian man, Abiola Kayode, has been extradited from Ghana to the District of Nebraska, United States, to face charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. The extradition follows an indictment filed in August 2019 in Omaha, Nebraska, after an extensive investigation into fraudulent activities.
According to U.S. Attorney Susan Lehr, Kayode was arrested by Ghanaian law enforcement in April 2023 after the United States formally requested his extradition. The Ghanaian authorities approved the request, and Kayode was subsequently handed over to FBI agents, who transported him to Nebraska.
Kayode appeared in federal court on December 11, 2024, before United States Magistrate Judge Michael D. Nelson. A statement released by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Nebraska, disclosed that Kayode had been on the FBI’s Most Wanted Cyber Criminal List. He is accused of being involved in a business email compromise (BEC) scheme between January 2015 and September 2016, which defrauded businesses in Nebraska and other areas of over $6 million.
The indictment alleges that Kayode’s co-conspirators impersonated executives such as CEOs, presidents, or business owners by using spoofed email accounts to deceive employees. These fraudulent emails directed employees to wire funds to accounts controlled by Kayode and his associates.
The statement explained, “Kayode’s co-conspirators used spoofed emails to pose as legitimate business executives and instructed employees to complete wire transfers. Believing the requests were genuine, the employees complied and transferred the funds as directed. Kayode is alleged to have provided bank account details used in the fraudulent transactions.”
The accounts receiving the funds were often linked to victims of internet romance scams, who were unknowingly instructed to transfer money to other accounts controlled by the fraud network.
Some of Kayode’s accomplices have already been convicted and sentenced. Notably, Adewale Aniyeloye, who sent spoofed emails to targeted businesses, was sentenced in February 2019 to 96 months in prison and ordered to pay $1,570,938.05 in restitution.
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