Nigerian Pleads Guilty in $2.5m Romance and Sextortion Fraud Scheme Targeting 150 Americans

A 35-year-old Nigerian national, Olamide Shanu, has pleaded guilty in the United States to conspiracy to commit money laundering over his alleged involvement in an international sextortion and romance fraud operation that targeted about 150 Americans.

US prosecutors said the scheme generated more than $2.5 million in proceeds and caused millions of dollars in financial losses to victims who were allegedly deceived and threatened by members of the criminal network.

According to court documents, Shanu and his co-conspirators operated different forms of online fraud, including sextortion schemes targeting male victims.

In the sextortion operation, victims were allegedly persuaded to send intimate or sexually explicit photographs to people they believed they had met online.

After obtaining the images, the suspects allegedly threatened to distribute them to the victims’ friends, relatives and other contacts unless payments were made.

Prosecutors said the group also operated romance scams in which members created false identities on social media and used them to establish relationships with unsuspecting victims.

The alleged romance fraud particularly targeted older men and women.

After gaining the trust of the victims, the fraudsters reportedly requested money by claiming they were facing urgent financial difficulties or other emergencies that required immediate assistance.

The money obtained through the schemes was allegedly moved through peer-to-peer payment platforms and cryptocurrency wallets in an effort to conceal the source of the funds.

Prosecutors said some of the proceeds were subsequently transferred to other members of the network in Nigeria.

Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the US Department of Justice’s Criminal Division described the case as an example of how cyber-enabled criminal networks can operate across international borders to exploit victims and conceal illegally obtained funds.

“This case exposes a sophisticated international scheme that exploited Americans through sextortion and romance fraud, laundering millions in criminal proceeds,” Duva said.

US Attorney for the District of Idaho, Bart M. Davis, said the prosecution reflected the determination of American law enforcement agencies to pursue individuals involved in cybercrime, regardless of their location.

Shanu was extradited from Nigeria to the United States to face the charges. Following his guilty plea, he is scheduled to be sentenced on December 15. He faces a maximum possible sentence of 20 years in federal prison.

Assistant Director Brent Daniels of the US Secret Service’s Office of Field Operations said the guilty plea represented an important step towards justice for people who were allegedly harmed by the international fraud operation.

Daniels said the Secret Service would continue working with its law enforcement partners to identify and investigate individuals involved in cyber-enabled fraud and ensure that those found responsible are held accountable.

The US Secret Service and the Boise Police Department are continuing investigations into the case and the wider activities allegedly connected to the fraud network.

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