Reported by: Ijeoma G | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
The United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has arrested a 31-year-old Nigerian man, Barnabas Terhemba Jime, who was previously convicted of conspiracy to commit wire fraud in a romance scam ring that stole over $840,000 from 120 victims across the country. Jime, who had already served a prison sentence for his role as the "money man" in the elaborate fraud network, was taken into custody by ICE enforcement officers last week as part of a broader operation targeting non-citizens convicted of serious crimes. The agency announced the arrest on Wednesday, May 20, 2026, via a post on its official X handle, listing Jime among several "criminal illegal aliens" arrested during enforcement operations. According to ICE, Jime will remain in custody pending his removal from the United States, marking the final chapter in a years-long saga that began with a romance scam investigation in July 2022 and has now culminated in deportation proceedings.
The post on X, which named Jime among several foreign nationals arrested by ICE, stated: "Criminals came from all over the world to take advantage of America's open borders to wreak havoc in our communities. Here are just a few of the criminal illegal aliens arrested by ICE last week. Jime, 31, convicted of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. He will remain in ICE custody pending removal from the United States." The language of the post, which made no mention of the specific details of Jime's crimes, reflects the agency's broader enforcement posture under the current administration, which has prioritized the arrest and deportation of non-citizens convicted of criminal offences.
The announcement has drawn attention to the broader pattern of Nigerians being targeted for deportation from the United States over fraud-related convictions. In February 2026, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security released a list of 97 Nigerians facing deportation for immigration offences, with wire fraud, mail fraud and identity theft among the most common crimes cited. An additional 18 Nigerians were added to a separate deportation list in the same month, with authorities highlighting the "worst of the worst criminal aliens" arrested by ICE. The deportation of Jime, who has already served his criminal sentence, adds to a growing list of foreign nationals being removed from the United States after completing their prison terms.
The ICE arrest caps a legal journey that has already seen Jime convicted and sentenced. In March 2025, Barnabas Jime was sentenced to two years in state prison after pleading guilty to his role in a romance scam ring. His journey from a student in the United States to a convicted fraudster and now a deportee began when he enrolled in college in the East Bay area of California. In a letter of apology submitted to the court before his sentencing, Jime blamed the sudden passing of his father for his descent into criminality. "The sudden passing of my father, shortly after I enrolled in college, ultimately caused misdirection in my life," Jime wrote. "I stand before you today seeking both redemption and a chance for rehabilitation. I plan to finish my bachelor's degree, honouring my father's sacrifices for my education."
The Multi‑Million Dollar Fraud Network
The criminal case against Jime, which was prosecuted by federal authorities in the Northern District of California, unveiled a sophisticated fraud ring that preyed on vulnerable Americans searching for love and housing. Jime was described by prosecutors as the "money man" in the operation, tasked with opening bank accounts, facilitating transactions and withdrawing cash from ATMs across the East Bay area, including in Berkeley, Oakland, and Emeryville. Federal authorities alleged that Jime created six different bank accounts under false identities, using the aliases Thomas Kirkpatrick and Patrick Warren, both of whom were entirely fictional. He then used those accounts to receive funds from victims who had been manipulated into sending money by other members of the fraud ring who posed as romantic interests.
According to the criminal complaint filed by United States Secret Service Special Agent Alfonso Speed, the romance scam ring stole approximately $840,363 from 120 "probable victims" in transactions dating back to 2021. The investigation began in July 2022 when a victim of a romance scam reported sending funds to a person named Thomas Kirkpatrick in Emeryville, who then disappeared with the money. When federal authorities investigated, they discovered that Kirkpatrick not only did not exist, but that Jime had invented both the Kirkpatrick persona and another identity, Patrick Warren, to perpetrate various fraud schemes. Investigators found that Jime had used the same Emeryville address in a police report, a rental car agreement, and both the Warren and Kirkpatrick personas all shared the same address.
Beyond the romance scam, Jime was also involved in a rental fraud scheme in which he allegedly offered properties for rent or lease, insisted on deposits or advance payments to secure the deals, and then cut off contact with victims immediately after they wired funds to the "landlord." In both the romance and rental scams, the operational playbook was similar: build trust, demand money, then disappear. The scheme netted hundreds of thousands of dollars from victims who were often left financially devastated and emotionally traumatized. At the time of his arrest in 2023, Jime pleaded not guilty and was released from custody while the case was pending. However, by March 2025, he had accepted responsibility for his role and was sentenced to two years in state prison.
The Deportation Process
Now that Jime has been convicted and has served his prison sentence, the U.S. government is moving to deport him as an "alien convicted of an aggravated felony." Under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), non‑citizens convicted of crimes involving fraud or deceit in which the loss to the victims exceeds $10,000 are considered to have committed an aggravated felony, making them deportable. Wire fraud, the crime Jime was convicted of, is considered a crime involving moral turpitude (CIMT) and can lead to deportation even for legal permanent residents. As someone who was not a U.S. citizen, Jime's continued presence in the country after his conviction became legally untenable.
According to immigration attorneys who have handled similar cases, the process of deportation after a criminal conviction typically involves the transfer of the individual from the custody of the Bureau of Prisons to the custody of ICE. Once in ICE custody, the individual is placed in removal proceedings before an immigration judge. In Jime's case, however, the agency appears to have already determined that he is deportable based on his conviction. The statement released by ICE on May 20 indicates that Jime will be removed from the United States without the need for a separate hearing, possibly because he has waived his right to contest deportation or because his conviction automatically triggers removal under existing immigration laws.
For the 120 victims who lost money to the fraud ring, and for the countless others who have been targeted by similar romance scams, the deportation of Barnabas Terhemba Jime may offer some measure of closure. However, the broader problem of online fraud, much of it originating from foreign nationals operating within the United States or remotely from abroad, remains a persistent challenge for law enforcement. Romance scams alone cost Americans over $1.14 billion in 2023, according to the Federal Trade Commission, and the problem has only grown worse in subsequent years.
As Jime awaits removal from the United States, his case serves as a cautionary tale for foreign nationals who believe that serving a prison sentence is the full extent of their punishment. For non-citizens convicted of serious crimes, the sentence is often just the beginning. The final chapter is written not in a prison cell, but on a deportation flight, heading back to a country they left years ago, with nothing to show for their time in America except a criminal record and a one-way ticket home.
For the 120 victims scattered across the United States, the dollars they wired to a fake landlord or a phantom lover are gone, unlikely ever to be recovered. But at least the man who opened the accounts, who stood at the ATMs in Berkeley, Oakland and Emeryville, who called himself "Kirkpatrick" and "Warren" while emptying their bank accounts, will soon be on a plane, heading back to a country where the only romance he will find is the one he left behind.
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