Three Nigerians Convicted in $2M Cyber Fraud Scheme

Three Nigerian nationals—Oladimeji Seun Ayelotan, 30; Rasaq Aderoju Raheem, 31; and Femi Alexander Mewase, 45—were convicted today in federal court in the Southern District of Mississippi following a three-week trial on charges tied to a sprawling international cyber financial fraud scheme. The defendants, extradited from South Africa in July 2015, were found guilty by a federal jury of orchestrating and executing multiple online scams that targeted U.S. victims for over a decade.

Ayelotan was convicted of conspiracy to commit mail fraud, wire fraud, and bank fraud, conspiracy to commit identity theft, access device fraud, and theft of U.S. government funds, two counts of mail fraud, and conspiracy to commit money laundering. He faces up to 95 years in prison. Raheem was convicted of the same charges plus an additional count of mail fraud, exposing him to a potential 115-year sentence. Mewase was convicted of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and wire fraud, and conspiracy to commit identity theft, access device fraud, and theft of U.S. government funds, and now faces up to 25 years behind bars. Sentencing is scheduled for May 24.

Trial evidence revealed that the fraud network operated from as early as 2001, leveraging online dating sites and fake work-at-home job posts to lure victims. The defendants cultivated fake romantic relationships—commonly known as ‘romance scams’—to manipulate victims into receiving and shipping stolen goods, depositing counterfeit checks, and withdrawing cash from prepaid debit cards loaded with money siphoned from compromised accounts. These unwitting accomplices were then used to launder millions through wire transfers, U.S. mail, and express delivery services.

The case, one of the most complex cyber fraud investigations in the district’s history, charged a total of 21 individuals across multiple continents. To date, 12 defendants—including Adekunle Adefila, 41, of Nigeria; Anuoluwapo Segun Adegbemigun, 40, of Nigeria; Gabriel Oludare Adeniran, 30, of Nigeria; Genoveva Farfan, 45, of California; Rhulane Fionah Hlungwane, 26, of South Africa; and Dennis Brian Ladden, 75, of Wisconsin—have pleaded guilty to related conspiracy charges. Susan Anne Villeneuve, 49, of California, remains awaiting trial.

The investigation was spearheaded by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, with crucial support from the Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs, the HSI Cyber Crimes Center, and HSI Attachés in Pretoria, South Africa, and Dakar, Senegal. The U.S. Marshals Service’s International Investigations Branch, the Southern District of Mississippi District Office, the South African Police Service (SAPS) Directorate of Priority Crimes Investigation (DPCI) Electronic Crimes Unit, SAPS Interpol Extradition Unit, the South African National Prosecution Authority, and the South African Department of Justice and Constitutional Development all played pivotal roles in dismantling the network.

Trial Attorney Conor Mulroe of the Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Gang Section and Senior Counsel Peter Roman of the Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section prosecuted the case. Acting Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Blanco of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Gregory K. Davis of the Southern District of Mississippi announced the convictions, underscoring the federal government’s commitment to pursuing transnational cybercriminals regardless of borders.