Nigerian Yahoo boy Olamide Shanu faces US prosecution after extradition from the UK over a $2m sextortion and wire fraud scheme

The United States Department of Justice (DoJ) has commenced the prosecution of Olamide Shanu, a 34-year-old Nigerian man extradited from the United Kingdom over his role in a multimillion-dollar sextortion and wire fraud scheme.

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According to a DoJ statement on Thursday, Shanu, who resides in Lagos, made his initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Debora K. Grasham following his extradition.

He is facing an eight-count indictment that includes wire fraud conspiracy, aggravated identity theft, extortion, cyberstalking, and money laundering conspiracy.

Prosecutors allege that Shanu and his accomplices posed as women on social media to lure male victims into sharing explicit photos.

The group then threatened to expose the images to friends and family unless the victims paid money.

The indictment reveals that Shanu defrauded numerous victims, including a college student in Idaho, obtaining at least \$2 million through the scheme.

He allegedly laundered the proceeds via peer-to-peer payment apps and cryptocurrency wallets before funnelling the funds to co-conspirators in Nigeria.

“If convicted, Shanu faces up to 20 years in federal prison, along with mandatory restitution to victims,” the DoJ stated.

Court records show that U.S. authorities had previously traced a \$2.5 million wire fraud and sextortion scheme to Shanu’s Binance account, which was subsequently seized by the U.S. Secret Service in 2023.