Fifth Defendant Convicted in Puerto Rico for Money Laundering Linked to Nigerian Fraud Rings

A federal jury in Puerto Rico has convicted a fifth defendant for conspiracy to launder funds tied to wide-ranging fraud schemes that exploited vulnerable victims across the United States.

Following a 22-day trial in San Juan, Oluwasegun Baiyewu, 37, of Richmond, Texas, was found guilty of money laundering conspiracy. Court records revealed that Baiyewu and his co-defendants – Oluwaseun Adelekan, 40, and Temitope Omotayo, 40, of Staten Island, New York; Ifeoluwa Dudubo, 37, of Austin, Texas; and Temitope Suleiman, 37, of Richmond, Texas – channelled proceeds from transnational fraud operations into Nigerian organised crime groups.

The group laundered money from romance fraud, pandemic relief unemployment insurance scams, and business email compromise schemes. Many victims were elderly or otherwise vulnerable, and businesses in Puerto Rico and the mainland United States also suffered significant losses.

Assistant Attorney General Brett A Shumate of the Justice Department’s Civil Division said the conviction highlighted the government’s determination to target not just fraud architects but also the launderers who ensure the crimes are profitable. US Attorney W Stephen Muldrow for the District of Puerto Rico emphasised that the schemes preyed on the most vulnerable, stressing that his office and its partners remain committed to ensuring perpetrators are held to account.

The FBI’s Cyber Division, the US Postal Inspection Service, and the Department of Labor’s Office of Inspector General all played key roles in the investigation, supported by the National Unemployment Insurance Fraud Task Force and the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Strike Force.

Evidence at trial showed that between 2020 and 2021 the defendants “cleaned” millions in criminal proceeds, often by conducting hundreds of transactions to disguise their origin. Some illicit funds were used to buy second-hand cars, which were then shipped to Nigeria.

Sentencing will take place before Judge Raúl M Arias-Marxuach in the District of Puerto Rico.

Read the press release here.