U.S. Prosecutors Charge Extradited Nigerian in $2 Million Sextortion, Wire Fraud Scheme

The United States Department of Justice (DoJ) has begun prosecuting Olamide Shanu, a 34-year-old Lagos-based internet fraudster extradited from the United Kingdom over his role in a sextortion and wire fraud scheme that netted at least $2 million.

In a statement on Thursday, the DoJ said Shanu made his initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Debora K. Grasham following his transfer from the UK.

He faces an eight-count indictment that includes:

• Wire fraud conspiracy 

• Aggravated identity theft

• Conspiracy to commit interstate communications with intent to extort

• Conspiracy to commit extortion

• Money laundering conspiracy

• Extortion

• Interstate communications with intent to extort

• Cyberstalking

According to prosecutors, Shanu and his co-conspirators posed as women on social media, luring male victims into sharing sexually explicit images. They then threatened to distribute the images to friends and family unless the victims paid money.

Victims spanned multiple U.S. states, including a college student in Idaho, the DoJ said. If convicted, Shanu faces up to 20 years in federal prison and could be ordered to pay restitution to victims.

Investigators allege that Shanu laundered more than $2 million in illicit proceeds through peer-to-peer payment apps and cryptocurrency wallets before transferring funds to associates in Nigeria.

Court records show that in 2023 the U.S. Secret Service seized Shanu’s Binance account after tracing a $2.5 million fraud and sextortion operation back to him.