FBI Ghana arrests and extraditions

Ghana-based arrest; extradited to Tennessee · 2020

Maxwell Atugba Abayeta

Also known as: Maxwell Peter

Convicted; sentenced to 55 months

Cybercrime and business-email-compromise prosecution

No verified subject photograph in the cited official release

Maxwell Atugba Abayeta, also known as Maxwell Peter, was a Ghanaian citizen living in Tamale. DOJ reported that he was among overseas arrestees in a cybercrime investigation and later confirmed his extradition to Tennessee in 2020.

The case involved alleged intrusions into business email accounts, diverted payments and other online fraud. DOJ subsequently reported a 55-month prison sentence for Peter. The FBI led the investigation, supported by its Legal Attaché in Accra and Ghanaian authorities. No individual portrait was published in the cited DOJ release.

Official reporting

Read original DOJ report Read DOJ case update

Source-reviewed on 24 September 2026. Crime Watch Global is independent of the FBI and DOJ. A charge is not a conviction; legal status is stated separately for each person. Images not published by DOJ are identified as such.