Kani Bassie, Bank Fraud, New York 2025

ALBANY, NEW YORK – In a shocking turn of events, two more defendants have pleaded guilty to their roles in a multi-million-dollar bank fraud conspiracy led by Oluwaseun Adekoya, a Nigerian citizen.

Kani Bassie, age 36, of Brooklyn, New York, and Jermon Brooks, age 20, of Richmond, Virginia, admitted to being members of a conspiracy to defraud financial institutions across the country by obtaining the personal identifying information of individuals and using lower-level ‘workers’ to impersonate the identity-theft victims to conduct fraudulent banking transactions in their names.

Bassie and Brooks supervised and oversaw lower-level coconspirators who withdrew hundreds of thousands of dollars from identity-theft victims in the Northern District of New York and all over the country. Bassie admitted to conspiring with alleged ringleader Adekoya to launder bank fraud proceeds in transactions designed to conceal and disguise the nature, location, source, ownership, and control of the proceeds and to use bank fraud proceeds to reinvest in the ongoing conspiracy.

According to documents previously filed in the case, the investigation has uncovered over $2 million in fraudulent transactions to date. Thirteen defendants have pled guilty and forfeited hundreds of thousands of dollars in proceeds, luxury apparel, and jewelry.

At sentencing later this year, Bassie and Brooks face a maximum term of 30 years’ incarceration for the bank fraud conspiracy, Bassie faces a maximum term of 20 years’ incarceration for the money laundering conspiracy, and Bassie and Brooks face a mandatory consecutive term of 2 years’ incarceration for their convictions of aggravated identity theft.

The FBI took very seriously their responsibility to investigate and pursue those who commit fraud for personal gain. The agency will continue working with law enforcement partners across the country to hold accountable those who use illegal means and criminal behavior to take advantage of others.

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