A Nigerian citizen, Alex Ogunshakin, has been sent to the United States to face charges related to a fraud scheme.
Announced by Acting United States Attorney Susan Lehr on October 10, 2023, Ogunshakin, aged 40, has been extradited to the District of Nebraska in response to a 2019 Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud Indictment filed in Omaha, Nebraska.
The Government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria agreed to the United States' extradition request, which was submitted in May 2020.
Previously listed on the FBI Cyber's Most Wanted List, Ogunshakin was apprehended in Nigeria and subsequently surrendered to the United States. He had his initial court appearance on September 29, 2023.
United States Magistrate Judge Michael D. Nelson ordered that Ogunshakin remain in detention until his trial.
Ogunshakin, also featured on the FBI Cyber’s Most Wanted List, is accused of participating in a business email compromise (BEC) scheme that took place from January 2015 to September 2016. This scheme defrauded businesses in the District of Nebraska and beyond, resulting in losses exceeding $6 million.
According to the indictment, Ogunshakin's co-conspirators posed as high-ranking executives, such as CEOs, presidents, or business owners, from the targeted companies. They used spoofed email accounts to deceive recipients into making wire transfers.
Believing the requests were genuine, employees of these businesses complied with the wire transfer instructions, resulting in the fraudulent transfer of money as directed by Ogunshakin's co-conspirators.
Ogunshakin is alleged to have provided bank account information to the co-conspirators who sent the deceptive emails, instructing victims to transfer funds to accounts under Ogunshakin's control. Many of these bank accounts belonged to individuals who were victims of internet romance scams and were directed to send money to other accounts.
Some of Ogunshakin's co-conspirators have already been convicted and sentenced.
Notably, Adewale Aniyeloye was sentenced to 96 months in prison in February 2019, with an order to pay $1,570,938.05 in restitution. Pelumi Fawehinimi, a bank account facilitator, received a 72-month prison 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 January 2020 and was ordered to pay $508,934.40 in restitution after extradition from Poland. Several co-conspirators are still evading capture.
Eugene Kowel, FBI Omaha Special Agent in Charge, commented, "Cyber Criminal Alex Ogunshakin collaborated with other co-conspirators, who are still on the FBI Cyber's Most Wanted fugitive list, to defraud U.S. victims of millions of dollars."
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