US-based Nigerian Convicted of Laundering $2.7m From Romance Fraud Victims
- A federal jury in Georgia found Babajide Adesayo guilty on 18 counts after an eight-day trial over a multimillion-dollar online fraud scheme
- Adesayo, 41, continued laundering stolen funds even after his June 2024 arrest and release on bond, prompting a judge to revoke his bail
- Sentencing is set for November 20, 2026, with Adesayo facing decades in prison for his role in a transnational elder fraud network
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A federal jury in Atlanta, Georgia, convicted Babajide Adesayo, 41, of Douglasville, Georgia, on August 6, 2026, on all 18 charges brought against him, including two counts of conspiracy to commit money laundering and sixteen counts of transactional money laundering.
Prosecutors said Adesayo was a central figure in a transnational network that defrauded elderly victims through romance scams and other online schemes between April 2020 and September 2021.
Source: Getty Images
The fraudsters cultivated relationships with victims, posing as friends, business partners, or romantic interests, then fabricated emergencies to solicit large sums of money, including retirement savings.
This is according to a statement issued by the U.S. Attorney's Office, Northern District of Georgia.
How the scheme worked
Most victims were directed to send funds to accounts belonging to Adesayo's co-defendant, Nigerian national Efemena Igbe. Igbe would quickly forward the bulk of those funds to Adesayo, disguising the transfers with false notations suggesting the money was payment for vehicles from Adesayo's automotive business.
Adesayo then moved the money almost immediately to overseas accounts in China, Hong Kong, Nigeria, and other countries. Over 17 months, he channelled more than $2.7 million in this manner, making recovery by victims effectively impossible.
U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg described Adesayo as "a prolific money launderer" who "facilitated the theft of nearly $3 million from victims and continued even after he was indicted, arrested, and released on bond."
Laundering continued after arrest
Following his arrest in June 2024, Adesayo was released on bond without paying bail. Investigators later discovered he had not stopped his criminal activity.
Victims continued sending money either directly to his business accounts or through intermediaries who then transferred funds to him, and Adesayo withdrew those amounts almost as soon as they arrived.
A federal magistrate judge revoked his bond as a result, and he has been held in federal custody since March 2, 2026.
FBI Special Agent in Charge Marlo Graham said the conviction "sends a clear message: the FBI will relentlessly pursue those who prey on vulnerable victims and profit from fraud."
Steven N. Schrank of Homeland Security Investigations added that the case targeted "the financial facilitators who enable these crimes and attempt to move illicit proceeds beyond the reach of law enforcement."
Source: Twitter
What happens next
Adesayo is scheduled to be sentenced on November 20, 2026, before United States District Judge Mark H. Cohen. He faces up to 20 years in prison on each conspiracy count, up to 10 years on each transactional laundering count, and an additional consecutive term of up to 10 years for committing offences while on release.
US-based man indicted for $113k business fraud
Recall that a 32-year-old US-based African man appeared in federal court in North Dakota after a grand jury returned an indictment against him.
The indictment charged Oleko with one count of wire fraud and one count of bank fraud linked to a business email compromise scheme.
Federal prosecutors alleged that Oleko participated in and aided a scheme that defrauded an auction business of over $113,000.
Source: Legit.ng
