Nigerian man bags guilty plea in $2.5m US romance, sextortion scam

A 35-year-old Nigerian, Olamide Shanu, has pleaded guilty in the United States to conspiracy to commit money laundering tied to a sextortion and romance fraud scheme that defrauded about 150 Americans.

US prosecutors said Shanu raked in more than $2.5 million from the operation, leaving victims with millions of dollars in losses.

Court documents showed that Shanu and his co-conspirators targeted male victims in sextortion scams, luring them into sending explicit images before threatening to expose them to friends and family unless they paid up.

In a separate scheme, the group ran romance scams using fake social media identities to build relationships with victims — mostly older men and women — before convincing them to send money for fabricated emergencies.

Investigators said the proceeds were laundered through peer-to-peer payment apps and cryptocurrency wallets before being routed to co-conspirators in Nigeria.

Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division described the case as exposing a sophisticated international scheme that exploited Americans through sextortion and romance fraud while laundering millions in criminal proceeds.

US Attorney Bart M. Davis for the District of Idaho said the prosecution reflects an unwavering commitment to holding cybercriminals accountable regardless of where they operate.

Shanu, who was extradited from Nigeria to the US, is scheduled for sentencing on December 15 and faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.

Assistant Director Brent Daniels of the US Secret Service’s Office of Field Operations said the guilty plea marks an important step toward justice for victims, reiterating the agency’s commitment to working with law enforcement partners to hold cyber fraud perpetrators accountable.

The US Secret Service and Boise Police Department are investigating the case.

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