- A Nigerian man was extradited to the U.S. for alleged sextortion schemes.
- Olamide Shanu faces charges including wire fraud conspiracy and aggravated identity theft.
- Shanu's scams reportedly defrauded victims of $2 million; he faces 20 years imprisonment.
BOISE — A 34-year-old Nigerian man made his initial appearance Wednesday after being extradited to the United States for alleged sextortion and romance scams.
According to a news release from the U.S. Attorney's Office, Olamide Shanu, 34, of Lagos, Nigeria, was recently extradited to the United States from the United Kingdom and faces prosecution for his role in "several cyber-enabled schemes, including 'sextortion' and romance scams."
Shanu is charged with wire fraud conspiracy, aggravated identity theft, conspiracy to commit interstate communications with intent to extort and cyberstalking, conspiracy to commit extortion, money laundering conspiracy, extortion, interstate communications with intent to commit extortion, and cyberstalking.
Authorities in London arrested Shanu in the United Kingdom on Nov. 7, 2023, based on the indictment filed in the District of Idaho, according to the release. Shanu has remained incarcerated since his arrest.
According to the indictment, Shanu and his conspirators posed as women on social media and persuaded their victims, who were typically men, to send sexual images of themselves.
Once the victims sent the explicit images, the conspirators threatened to send them to the victims' friends and families unless the victims paid money.
The indictment says there were "numerous victims across the United States," including a college student in Idaho.
The conspirators also reportedly scammed their victims romantically, by using fake identities on social media, making contact with the victims and "establishing deceptive emotional relationships."
"The coconspirators gained the victims' trust, persuaded the victims first that they had a romantic future together and later that the coconspirators had urgent needs for money, and then convinced the victims to send them money through P2P apps, gift cards and/or cryptocurrency," the release says.
The money from the schemes was allegedly laundered before being transferred to Nigeria. According to the indictment, Shanu fraudulently obtained at least $2 million.
If convicted of the charges, Shanu faces up to 20 years in federal prison and may be required to pay restitution for the losses incurred by the victims.
"Acting U.S. Attorney Whatcott thanked the U.S. Department of Justice's Office of International Affairs (OIA) and the U.S. State Department for their help in facilitating the arrest and extradition of Shanu," the release says. "Acting U.S. Attorney Whatcott also extends his appreciation and thanks to the National Extradition Unit of the United Kingdom's National Crime Agency, who provided critical assistance with the arrest and extradition of Shanu."
The case was investigated by the United States Secret Service and the Boise Police Department and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Brittney Campbell and Sean Mazorol and Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section Trial Attorney Vasantha Rao.
