Olamide Shanu, 35, a Nigerian national, pleaded guilty yesterday in the District of Idaho to charges related to his role in several cyber-enabled schemes that defrauded approximately 150 American victims and caused millions of dollars in losses. Shanu made more than $2,500,000 from these fraud schemes.

“This case exposes a sophisticated international scheme that exploited Americans through sextortion and romance fraud, laundering millions in criminal proceeds,” said Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Criminals, like Olamide Shanu, who prey on vulnerable victims in this manner rob them of their savings and sense of decency. The Criminal Division’s Cyber-Enabled Scam Initiative was launched to confront exactly these threats — dismantling networks like this and ensuring justice for those harmed.” 

“This prosecution demonstrates our unwavering commitment to holding cybercriminals accountable, no matter where they operate in the world. 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,” said U.S. Attorney Bart M. Davis for the District of Idaho. “This guilty plea, involving more than $2.5 million in laundered proceeds, reflects the dedicated efforts of our prosecutors and law enforcement partners to disrupt international criminal networks, protect victims, and ensure that cyber-enabled crime does not go unanswered.”

“Financially motivated sextortion is a heinous crime that preys on fear, shame, and trust to exploit victims in deeply personal ways,” said Assistant Director Brent Daniels of the U.S. Secret Service’s (USSS) Office of Field Operations. “This guilty plea is an important step toward justice for the victims harmed by this international scheme and reflects the Secret Service’s commitment to working with our law enforcement partners to identify, investigate, and hold accountable those who use cyber-enabled fraud to target Americans.”

According to court documents, Shanu and his coconspirators participated in an international, financially motivated sextortion, romance fraud, and money laundering scheme. As part of the sextortion scheme, Shanu and his co-conspirators typically targeted male victims, persuaded them to send sexual images of themselves, and then threatened to send the victim’s sexual images to the victim’s friends and family unless the victim made payments to the co-conspirators. Shanu and his co-conspirators engaged in this extortion of numerous victims across the United States, including an individual located in Idaho. In the romance scams, Shanu and his co-conspirators, using fake identities on social media, made contacts with victims — typically older women and men — and established deceptive emotional relationships. The co-conspirators gained the victims’ trust, persuaded the victims that they had a romantic future together and then convinced the victims to send the co-conspirators money based on various purportedly urgent needs for funds. Proceeds from the schemes were laundered using peer-to-peer payment applications and several cryptocurrency wallet addresses before being transferred to the co-conspirators in Nigeria.

Shanu pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering.  He is scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 15 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 USSS and the Boise Police Department are investigating the case.

Senior Counsel Vasantha Rao of the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section (CCIPS) and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brittney Campbell and Sean Mazorol for the District of Idaho are prosecuting the case. Substantial assistance was provided by the Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs, the State Department and the U.K. authorities. 

CCIPS investigates and prosecutes cybercrime and intellectual property (IP) crime in coordination with domestic and international law enforcement agencies, often with assistance from the private sector. Since 2020, CCIPS has secured the conviction of over 180 cyber and IP criminals, and court orders for the return of over $350 million in victim funds.

This case is part of efforts being undertaken by the Criminal Division’s Cyber-Enabled Scam Initiative (CSI). The CSI is a dedicated team of prosecutors built to find scammers who prey on Americans, disrupt their networks, and hold them accountable. CSI coordinates across the Criminal Division’s Sections, bringing together prosecutors and subject matter experts in complex frauds and investment schemes, cybercrimes and dismantling cyber infrastructure, online child exploitation, international evidence gathering and extradition, overseas prosecutorial development and assistance, and financial tracing and asset forfeiture.