A 34-year-old Nigerian, Adetunji Abudu, has been arrested at an airport in the United States over an alleged money-laundering scheme involving millions of dollars reportedly obtained from elderly Americans.
Abudu, who is said to be from Lagos, was apprehended at Logan International Airport in Boston, Massachusetts, while arriving from Istanbul, Turkey.
The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Rhode Island disclosed this in a statement published on Monday, stating that Abudu was among six individuals named in an expanded indictment over alleged fraud and money laundering.
According to the indictment, the suspects allegedly laundered proceeds from fraudulent schemes operated from Nigeria through bank accounts and businesses in the United States.
The alleged schemes reportedly involved online romance scams, fake sweepstakes, fraudulent rental advertisements and bogus online shipping transactions targeting elderly Americans.
The prosecutors said the proceeds were allegedly moved through accounts and businesses in Rhode Island, Idaho and other locations before substantial amounts were transferred to Nigeria.
The statement added that members of the alleged criminal network also used proceeds from the schemes to purchase vehicles, which were subsequently shipped abroad.
The US Attorney’s Office said Abudu left the country in 2019 after the Federal Bureau of Investigation searched his residence in North Providence under a court-authorised warrant.
“Abudu fled the United States to Nigeria in 2019 after the FBI executed a court-authorised search of his residence in North Providence,” the statement said.
Five other defendants in the case — Dotun Olawale Alonge, Oluwaseyi Akintol, Samson Ikotun, Olabode Shaba and Oladipup Shodipu — have pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering.
They reportedly received prison sentences ranging from time served to 42 months’ imprisonment.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant US Attorney John P. McAdams, following an investigation by the FBI, with support from the US Postal Inspection Service and police departments in Tallmadge, Ohio, and Moscow, Idaho.
However, the US Attorney’s Office cautioned that the indictment contains allegations and does not establish guilt.
It stated that the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court.
