A Nigerian national, James Junior Aliyu, has been sentenced to 90 months in prison in the United States for orchestrating a $4.1 million wire fraud and money laundering scheme targeting US citizens.
In a statement on Saturday, the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) confirmed that Aliyu was also ordered to forfeit $1.2 million and return $2.4 million in restitution to his victims.
ICE added that Aliyu will be deported after serving his sentence.
Aliyu’s arrest traces back to July 2022, when the International Criminal Police Organisation (Interpol), in collaboration with the South African Police Service (SAPS), apprehended him in Sandton, Johannesburg.
He was accused of defrauding dozens of Americans through an elaborate cybercrime ring involving phishing scams, internet fraud, and money laundering.
Following his extradition to the US, Aliyu pleaded guilty to the charges. Eight co-conspirators, all US residents, also pleaded guilty in the District of Maryland for their roles in the same conspiracy.
Prosecutors said Aliyu and his accomplices gained unauthorized access to email accounts belonging to individuals and businesses between February and July 2017. They then sent “false wiring instructions to the victims’ email accounts from ‘spoofed’ emails — accounts associated with forged sender addresses — to deceive the victims into sending money to bank accounts controlled by the scheme’s perpetrators.”
The US authorities revealed that Aliyu was directly involved in at least $4,162,211 of the fraudulent transfers.
ICE emphasised that the prosecution and sentencing demonstrate the agency’s commitment to pursuing international cybercriminals and ensuring that justice is served, even across borders.