U.S. Sentences Nigerian National to 95 Months for Laundering $3.1 Million in Scam Proceeds

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Text-first report · supplied account

A supplied U.S. Department of Justice press release dated 28 August 2026 says Nigerian national Oluwasegun Baiyewu, 40, of Houston, Texas, was sentenced to 95 months in prison for his role in a money-laundering conspiracy involving proceeds from multiple fraud schemes.

According to the supplied release, Baiyewu led a conspiracy that laundered more than $3.1 million from business-email-compromise, romance, and unemployment-insurance fraud schemes targeting U.S. citizens. The release says the activity took place from approximately May 2020 through October 2021 and involved at least six other co-conspirators in the United States and Nigeria.

The DOJ says Baiyewu and his co-conspirators used encrypted messaging applications, including WhatsApp, to coordinate the receipt and use of illicit funds to purchase salvaged cars. The cars were then arranged for export and shipment to Nigeria for the benefit of co-conspirators.

In one example described by the release, a Puerto Rican renewable-energy company was tricked into wiring approximately $280,000 to accounts controlled by fraudsters and money launderers. The release says Baiyewu helped use that money toward the purchase and export of vehicles.

A federal jury convicted Baiyewu in August 2025 of one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. The supplied release says the case was investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Department of Labor Office of Inspector General, and the FBI San Juan Cyber Task Force, with assistance from the National Unemployment Insurance Fraud Task Force.

This report is based on the supplied DOJ release and describes a conviction and sentence reported by that agency. The release does not establish that every person mentioned in the broader conspiracy was convicted, and the supplied material does not provide separate outcomes for the other alleged co-conspirators.

Story tags

United StatesNigeriaDOJMoney LaunderingBusiness Email CompromiseRomance FraudScam ProceedsSentencing

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