The United States Attorney for the District of Nebraska, Susan Lehr, has announced the extradition of 37-year-old Abiola Kayode from Ghana to face charges of alleged cyber fraud involving a $6 million business email compromise (BEC) scheme.
Kayode, previously listed on the FBI’s Most Wanted Cyber Criminal List, is accused of participating in the scheme between January 2015 and September 2016.
According to the indictment, Kayode and his co-conspirators targeted businesses in Nebraska and other states, posing as executives to deceive employees into wiring funds to accounts under their control.
The case against Kayode was filed in Omaha, Nebraska, in August 2019. After being arrested by Ghanaian authorities in April 2023 following a U.S. extradition request, he was handed over to FBI agents and made his initial court appearance on December 11, 2024.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael D. Nelson has ordered Kayode to remain in custody pending trial.
Court documents allege that Kayode’s co-conspirators spoofed email accounts to impersonate high-ranking business executives.
These emails directed employees to transfer funds, believing the requests were legitimate.
Kayode allegedly provided the bank account details where the stolen funds were deposited.
Many of these accounts belonged to victims of romance scams, further complicating the investigation.
Several members of the fraud ring have already been prosecuted. The members are Adewale Aniyeloye, sentenced to 96 months in prison in 2019, with $1.57 million in restitution.
Pelumi Fawehinimi was sentenced to 72 months in 2019, with $1.01 million in restitution, while Onome Ijomone was extradited from Poland and sentenced to 60 months in 2020, with $508,934 in restitution.
Alex Ogunshakin was extradited from Nigeria and sentenced to 45 months in October 2024.
Other conspirators remain at large, and the FBI has reaffirmed its commitment to bringing them to justice.
The FBI credits its success in securing Kayode’s extradition to close cooperation with Ghanaian authorities, including the Office of the Attorney General, the Ministry of Justice, INTERPOL, and the Ghana Immigration Service.
“This extradition is a testament to our resolve in dismantling cyber-criminal networks,” said Eugene Kowel, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Omaha Field Office.
“To the remaining conspirators: we are coming for you,” he declared.
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