A Nigerian man based in the United Kingdom, Olamide Shanu, faces up to 20 years in prison after being extradited to the United States to answer charges linked to a $2 million fraud scheme.
The US Department of Justice revealed in a statement on Thursday that the 34-year-old Lagos State indigene was arraigned before a US Magistrate Court on Wednesday.
According to the DoJ, Shanu is facing an eight-count charge bordering on “wire fraud conspiracy, aggravated identity theft, conspiracy to commit interstate communications with intent to extort, and cyberstalking.” Additional charges include “conspiracy to commit extortion, money laundering conspiracy, extortion, interstate communications with intent to commit extortion, and cyberstalking.”
Prosecutors allege that Shanu and his accomplices posed as women on social media, luring victims into sending explicit photographs before blackmailing them.
The DoJ stated:
“According to the indictment, Shanu and his conspirators posed as females on social media and persuaded their victims, typically males, to send sexual images of themselves.
“The indictment alleges that once the victims sent the explicit images, the conspirators threatened to send the explicit images to the victims’ friends and families unless the victim paid money.
“The indictment alleges that the conspirators engaged in this extortion of numerous victims across the United States, including a college student in Idaho.”
Beyond the sextortion scheme, the suspect allegedly collaborated with others to launder proceeds through cryptocurrency wallets.
The statement added:
“According to the indictment, Shanu fraudulently obtained at least $2,000,000 from the fraud schemes.
“If convicted of the charges, Shanu faces up to 20 years in federal prison. He also faces restitution for the losses incurred by the victims of the scheme.
“An indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.”
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