Nigerian Faces 20 Years for $2.7M Romance Fraud Scheme

Babajide Adesayo, a 41-year-old Nigerian residing in Douglasville, Georgia, has been convicted by a federal jury for laundering more than $2.7 million obtained through romance fraud and other online scams. The United States Department of Justice announced that Adesayo was found guilty on August 6, 2026, after an eight-day trial, facing two counts of conspiracy to commit money laundering and 16 counts of transactional money laundering.

The fraudulent activities occurred between April 2020 and September 2021, targeting elderly victims who were misled into sending money under false pretenses. Evidence showed that funds were directed to business accounts of his co-defendant, Efemena Igbe, who then transferred most of the money to Adesayo, disguising it as payments for car purchases from Adesayo's automotive business.

Adesayo allegedly continued laundering money even after his arrest in June 2024. He has been in federal custody since March 2, 2026, and is scheduled for sentencing on November 20, 2026, facing up to 20 years for conspiracy counts and up to 10 years for each transactional money laundering count.