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A 35-year-old Nigerian, Olamide Shanu, has pleaded guilty in the United States to conspiracy to commit money laundering after participating in sextortion and romance fraud schemes that targeted about 150 Americans.
Shanu entered the guilty plea on Monday before the US District Court for the District of Idaho, according to the US Department of Justice.
The department said Shanu and his co-conspirators generated more than $2.5 million from the schemes, which targeted victims across the United States.
In the sextortion operation, the suspects allegedly persuaded male victims to send sexually explicit images before threatening to distribute the images to their friends and relatives unless they paid money.
The group also targeted older men and women through romance scams, allegedly creating fake identities on social media and developing deceptive emotional relationships with victims.
Court documents said the suspects gained the victims’ trust, made them believe they had a romantic future together and later demanded money for purported urgent financial needs.
The proceeds were allegedly laundered through peer-to-peer payment platforms and cryptocurrency wallets before being transferred to co-conspirators in Nigeria.
Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division said the case exposed an international operation that exploited Americans through sextortion and romance fraud.
The US Attorney for the District of Idaho, Bart M. Davis, said the guilty plea reflected efforts by American authorities to disrupt international cybercrime networks and prosecute those involved regardless of where they operated.
The US Secret Service and Boise Police Department are investigating the case.
Shanu is scheduled to be sentenced on December 15 and faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.
The court will determine the final sentence after considering the US Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
