Nigerian Sextortion Kingpin Olamide Shanu Admits Guilt in U.S. Case, Faces 20-Year Sentence

A 35-year-old Nigerian national, Olamide Shanu, has pleaded guilty in the United States to conspiracy to commit money laundering in connection with international sextortion and romance fraud schemes that targeted approximately 150 Americans and generated more than $2.5 million in criminal proceeds.

Shanu entered his guilty plea on Monday before the U.S. District Court for the District of Idaho, according to a statement issued by the U.S. Department of Justice on Tuesday.

According to court documents, Shanu and his co-conspirators participated in financially motivated sextortion and romance fraud schemes across the United States.

In the sextortion scheme, the conspirators typically targeted male victims and persuaded them to send sexual images of themselves before threatening to distribute the images to the victims’ friends and family unless payments were made.

The group also operated romance scams in which they used fake identities on social media to establish deceptive emotional relationships with victims, typically older men and women.

After gaining the victims’ trust and convincing them they had a romantic future together, the conspirators persuaded them to send money based on various purportedly urgent needs for funds.

Proceeds from the schemes were laundered using peer-to-peer payment applications and several cryptocurrency wallet addresses before being transferred to co-conspirators in Nigeria.

“This case exposes a sophisticated international scheme that exploited Americans through sextortion and romance fraud, laundering millions in criminal proceeds,” said Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.

“Criminals, like Olamide Shanu, who prey on vulnerable victims in this manner rob them of their savings and sense of decency,” Duva added.

U.S. Attorney Bart M. Davis for the District of Idaho said the prosecution demonstrated the government’s commitment to holding cybercriminals accountable regardless of where they operate.

“By securing the extradition of this defendant from Nigeria and bringing him to justice for sextortion and other cyber-enabled fraud schemes, we are sending a clear message that those who exploit victims and launder millions in illicit proceeds will face serious consequences,” Davis said.

Assistant Director Brent Daniels of the U.S. Secret Service’s Office of Field Operations described financially motivated sextortion as “a heinous crime that preys on fear, shame, and trust to exploit victims in deeply personal ways”.

Shanu is scheduled to be sentenced on December 15 and faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.

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