A Nigerian national, James Junior Aliyu, has been sentenced to a 90-month prison term in the United States for his involvement in a sweeping $4.1 million wire fraud and money laundering conspiracy.
The sentencing, announced on Saturday by the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), marks the conclusion of a lengthy international investigation.
In addition to his jail term, the court ordered Aliyu to forfeit $1.2 million and pay $2.4 million in restitution to his victims.
ICE confirmed that the Nigerian national will face immediate removal and deportation from the United States upon the completion of his prison sentence.
Aliyu’s criminal enterprise began unraveling in July 2022 when he was apprehended in Sandton, Johannesburg.
The arrest was executed by the International Criminal Police Organisation (Interpol) with crucial assistance from members of the South African Police Service (SAPS).
Following his capture, he was extradited to the United States to face justice for defrauding dozens of American citizens.
Court documents revealed that Aliyu was a key figure in a sophisticated cybercrime ring heavily involved in internet scams, phishing, and money laundering. Following his extradition, he formally pleaded guilty to the charges leveled against him.
According to federal prosecutors, the fraud ring operated primarily between February 2017 and July 2017.
Aliyu and his co-conspirators gained unauthorized access to the email accounts of various individuals and businesses.
The syndicate, which included eight other US-based defendants who have also pleaded guilty in the District of Maryland, utilized highly deceptive tactics to execute their scheme.
Prosecutors detailed that the conspirators sent “false wiring instructions to the victims’ email accounts from ‘spoofed’ emails, accounts associated with forged sender addresses to deceive the victims into sending money to bank accounts controlled by the scheme’s perpetrators.”
Through these business email compromise (BEC) schemes, the syndicate managed to extract massive sums.
Investigators successfully traced Aliyu’s direct involvement to at least $4,162,211 in fraudulent wire transfers before the international law enforcement clampdown dismantled the operation.
