Extradited Nigerian National Pleads Guilty to Laundering $2.5 Million from Sextortion and Romance Scams

A Nigerian national extradited to the United States has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering for his role in an international network that used sextortion and romance scams to generate and move more than $2.5 million in criminal proceeds.

The U.S. Department of Justice said on September 22 that Olamide Shanu, 35, entered the guilty plea in the District of Idaho. According to court documents, the schemes defrauded approximately 150 victims across the United States and caused millions of dollars in losses.

Proceeds moved through payment apps and cryptocurrency

Prosecutors said Shanu and his co-conspirators operated financially motivated sextortion and romance fraud schemes. In the sextortion activity, victims were persuaded to send sexual images and then threatened with disclosure to friends and family unless they paid the conspirators.

In the romance schemes, the conspirators used false identities on social media to establish deceptive relationships, typically with older victims, before requesting money for purported urgent needs.

The proceeds were laundered through peer-to-peer payment applications and multiple cryptocurrency wallet addresses before being transferred to co-conspirators in Nigeria, according to the Justice Department.

Extradition and sentencing

Shanu pleaded guilty specifically to conspiracy to commit money laundering. His sentencing is scheduled for December 15, 2026, and the offense carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. The final sentence will be determined by the federal district court under the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The U.S. Secret Service and Boise Police Department investigated the case. The Justice Department said its Office of International Affairs, the U.S. State Department and U.K. authorities provided substantial assistance.

The case is also being pursued under the Justice Department Criminal Division’s Cyber-Enabled Scam Initiative, which combines fraud, cybercrime, international evidence gathering, financial tracing and asset-forfeiture capabilities against transnational scam networks.

Source

U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Public Affairs — Extradited Nigerian National Pleads Guilty to Money Laundering in Connection with Sextortion and Romance Scams, September 22, 2026.