A 40-year-old Nigerian national based in Houston, Texas, has been sentenced to 95 months in federal prison for his role in a money laundering conspiracy involving more than $3.1 million obtained through multiple fraud schemes targeting victims in the United States.
Oluwasegun Baiyewu was convicted by a federal jury in August 2025 on one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. Court documents showed that he worked with at least six other individuals in the United States and Nigeria between May 2020 and October 2021 to disguise and move proceeds from fraud operations.
Investigators said the group used encrypted messaging platforms, including WhatsApp, to coordinate the receipt of fraudulent funds and use the money to purchase used and salvaged vehicles in the United States. The vehicles were subsequently exported and shipped to Nigeria, allowing the conspirators to transfer value derived from the illicit proceeds.
The fraud schemes linked to the conspiracy included business email compromise, romance scams and unemployment insurance fraud.
In one case, a renewable energy company in Puerto Rico was reportedly deceived into transferring about $280,000 to bank accounts controlled by fraudsters and money launderers. Baiyewu and his associates allegedly used part of the money to make payments for vehicles in the United States, which were then arranged for export to Nigeria for the benefit of members of the conspiracy.
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 and teams working under the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Strike Force.
The prosecution was handled by attorneys from the U.S. Department of Justice’s Criminal Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Puerto Rico.
The case was also pursued through the Justice Department’s Cyber-Enabled Scam Initiative, which focuses on tackling cyber-related financial crimes and disrupting criminal networks responsible for scams targeting Americans. The initiative covers schemes ranging from business and investment fraud to romance scams, government impersonation, cryptocurrency fraud and other forms of financially motivated crime.
Authorities said the broader effort involves cooperation between federal prosecutors and law enforcement agencies to dismantle international fraud networks, trace illicit proceeds and bring those responsible to justice.
