Abiola Ayorinde Kayode, 37, of Nigeria, was extradited to the District of Nebraska in the United States after being charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud in 2019.
Kayode, who was on the FBI’s Most Wanted Cyber Criminal List, was arrested in Ghana in April 2023 and later released before being transported to the United States by FBI special agents. On December 11, 2024, he made his first appearance on the indictment, and US Magistrate Judge Michael D.
Nelson ordered him held pending trial. Kayode has been charged with participating in a business email compromise (BEC) scheme that cost $6 million between 2015 and 2016.
He allegedly assisted in the defrauding of businesses by providing bank accounts for the scam. Co-conspirators used spoofed emails to impersonate company executives and trick employees into wiring funds. Victims of romance scams were also allegedly used to launder funds through their accounts.
Several co-conspirators have already been convicted, receiving sentences ranging from 45 to 96 months in prison, while others are still at large.
In a statement, FBI Omaha Special Agent in Charge Eugene Kowel said: “Four years ago, we identified six Nigerian nationals suspected of defrauding individual victims and businesses in Nebraska and other states out of millions of dollars.
“Today, Abiola Kayode became the second co-conspirator to be extradited to Nebraska for trial. Our message to the remaining four co-conspirators: we’re coming for you. The FBI, DOJ, and our international law enforcement partners prioritise dismantling cybercriminal groups that target US citizens.
“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.”