Nigerian Sentenced for Laundering $3.1M in Fraud Proceeds

Oluwasegun Baiyewu, a 40-year-old Nigerian national residing in Houston, Texas, was sentenced to 95 months (7 years and 11 months) in prison on Thursday for laundering more than $3.1 million derived from various fraud schemes targeting US citizens. The US Department of Justice reported that Baiyewu was involved in a money laundering conspiracy that included business email compromise, romance, and unemployment insurance fraud schemes, with activities spanning from May 2020 to October 2021.

Baiyewu coordinated with at least six other co-conspirators in the US and Nigeria, utilizing encrypted messaging applications like WhatsApp to manage the illicit funds. Notably, he conspired to launder approximately $280,000 obtained from a business email compromise scheme against a Puerto Rican renewable energy company.

Baiyewu was convicted in August 2025 on one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. The case was investigated by multiple agencies, including the FBI San Juan Cyber Task Force and the US Postal Inspection Service, and prosecuted by attorneys from the Criminal Division’s White Collar and Corporate Enforcement Section.