Reported by: Oahimire Omone Precious | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
A 35-year-old Nigerian national, Olamide Shanu, has pleaded guilty in the United States to conspiracy to commit money laundering, admitting his role in a sophisticated international scheme that used sextortion and romance fraud to defraud approximately 150 American victims and generate more than $2.5 million in criminal proceeds. The plea was entered on Monday, September 21, 2026, in the District of Idaho, according to a statement issued by the United States Department of Justice on Tuesday, September 22. The case represents a significant victory for the Justice Department's Cyber-Enabled Scam Initiative, which was launched to dismantle the kind of transnational criminal networks that Shanu and his co-conspirators allegedly operated.
According to court documents, Shanu and his co-conspirators ran two parallel schemes that preyed on different categories of victims. In the sextortion scheme, they typically targeted male victims, persuaded them to send sexual images of themselves, and then threatened to send the images to the victims' friends and family unless they made payments. The extortion campaign reached victims across the United States, including an individual in Idaho. In the romance fraud scheme, the conspirators used fake identities on social media to contact victims, typically older women and men, and established deceptive emotional relationships. They gained the victims' trust, convinced them that they had a romantic future together, and then persuaded them to send money based on various purportedly urgent needs for funds. The proceeds from both schemes were laundered through peer-to-peer payment applications and several cryptocurrency wallet addresses before being transferred to co-conspirators in Nigeria.
The scale of the operation was substantial. More than 150 American victims were defrauded, and the total proceeds exceeded $2.5 million. The Justice Department described the scheme as "sophisticated" and "international," underscoring the cross-border nature of the criminal enterprise. Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department's Criminal Division said the case "exposes a sophisticated international scheme that exploited Americans through sextortion and romance fraud, laundering millions in criminal proceeds." He added that "criminals, like Olamide Shanu, who prey on vulnerable victims in this manner rob them of their savings and sense of decency." The Cyber-Enabled Scam Initiative was launched precisely to confront these threats, dismantle the networks behind them, and ensure justice for those harmed.
U.S. Attorney Bart M. Davis for the District of Idaho emphasised the significance of securing Shanu's extradition from Nigeria and bringing him to justice in the United States. "This prosecution demonstrates our unwavering commitment to holding cybercriminals accountable, no matter where they operate in the world," Davis said. "By securing the extradition of this defendant from Nigeria and bringing him to justice for sextortion and other cyber-enabled fraud schemes, we are sending a clear message that those who exploit victims and launder millions in illicit proceeds will face serious consequences." He noted that the guilty plea, involving more than $2.5 million in laundered proceeds, reflected the dedicated efforts of prosecutors and law enforcement partners to disrupt international criminal networks, protect victims, and ensure that cyber-enabled crime does not go unanswered.
Assistant Director Brent Daniels of the U.S. Secret Service's Office of Field Operations described financially motivated sextortion as "a heinous crime that preys on fear, shame, and trust to exploit victims in deeply personal ways." He said the guilty plea was an important step toward justice for the victims harmed by the scheme and reflected the Secret Service's commitment to working with law enforcement partners to identify, investigate, and hold accountable those who use cyber-enabled fraud to target Americans. The investigation involved the U.S. Secret Service and the Boise Police Department.
Shanu pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering. He is scheduled to be sentenced on December 15, 2026, and faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. The case was prosecuted by Senior Counsel Vasantha Rao of the Criminal Division's Cyber-Enabled Scam Initiative, with assistance from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Idaho.
The case is part of a broader pattern of cyber-enabled fraud schemes originating from Nigeria and targeting victims in the United States and other Western countries. In June 2025, a Nigerian national, Charles Uchenna Nwadavid, pleaded guilty in federal court in Boston to stealing more than $2.5 million from six romance scam victims by transferring their money to cryptocurrency accounts he controlled. He was sentenced to several years in prison. The recurrence of such cases has drawn attention to the transnational nature of romance fraud and sextortion, which exploit the anonymity of the internet and the speed of cryptocurrency transactions to defraud victims across borders. The U.S. Department of Justice has prioritised the prosecution of these crimes through the Cyber-Enabled Scam Initiative, which coordinates investigations and prosecutions across multiple jurisdictions.
For the victims, the guilty plea brings a measure of closure, though the financial and emotional damage inflicted by the scheme cannot be undone. The Justice Department has emphasised that it will continue to pursue criminals who operate across borders, and Shanu's extradition from Nigeria to face justice in the United States serves as a warning to others who might believe they can evade accountability by operating from abroad. The sentencing scheduled for December 15 will determine the length of his imprisonment, but the broader message is already clear: the long arm of the law reaches across continents, and those who exploit vulnerable Americans through cyber-enabled fraud will face consequences.
The case also highlights the importance of international cooperation in combating cybercrime. Nigeria's cooperation in extraditing Shanu demonstrates a growing willingness among nations to work together to address transnational criminal networks. As the digital economy expands and criminals adopt increasingly sophisticated methods, such collaboration will become even more essential. For now, Olamide Shanu awaits sentencing, and the 150 victims he and his co-conspirators defrauded await the final chapter of a case that has exposed the human cost of sextortion and romance fraud.
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