Greenbelt, Maryland - A Nigerian national received a federal prison term for his role in a multi-million-dollar wire fraud and money laundering scheme.

U.S. District Judge Deborah L. Boardman sentenced James Junior Aliyu, 31, who resided in South Africa at the time of his criminal conduct, to 90 months in federal prison in connection with the conspiracy. Judge Boardman also ordered Aliyu, who was extradited from South Africa to the United States to face these criminal charges, to repay $2,389,130 to the victims.

Kelly O. Hayes, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, announced the sentence with Special Agent in Charge Christopher R. Heck, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) - Maryland, and Special Agent in Charge Brian McDonough, U.S. Secret Service (USSS) - Washington Field Office.

In August 2025, Aliyu pled guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering. Aliyu acknowledged that he conspired with others, including Kosi Goodness Simon-Ebo, 31, and Henry Onyedikachi Echefu, 34, to deceive and defraud multiple American victims. All three are Nigerian citizens who resided in South Africa at the time of the crimes.

According to his plea agreement, from February 2017 until at least July 2017, Aliyu conspired with others to perpetrate a business email compromise scheme. Aliyu and his co-conspirators, including accomplices residing in Maryland, gained unauthorized access to email accounts associated with individuals and businesses they targeted. As part of the scheme, co-conspirators sent false wiring instructions to the victims' email accounts from "spoofed" emails, which are messages from forged sender addresses. Co-conspirators then sent messages to deceive the victims into sending money to bank accounts the perpetrators controlled called "drop accounts."

During the same time frame, Aliyu and his accomplices conspired to commit money laundering by disbursing the fraudulently obtained funds in the drop accounts to other accounts. Co-conspirators moved the stolen money by initiating account transfers, withdrawing cash, and obtaining cashier's checks. They also wrote checks to other individuals and entities to hide the true ownership and source of these assets. In total, Aliyu and his co-conspirators attempted to defraud victims of at least $10.4 million, and the victims suffered an actual loss of at least $2,389,130.

U.S. Attorney Hayes commended HSI's Mid-Atlantic El Dorado Task Force and USSS for their work in the investigation. Ms. Hayes also thanked the South African Department of Justice and Constitutional Development, National Prosecuting Authority of South Africa, and South African Police Service. Additionally, the U.S. Department of Justice's Office of International Affairs (OIA) provided significant assistance in securing Aliyu's extradition from South Africa. OIA and the Department of Justice Canada's International Assistance Group provided substantial assistance in securing the arrest and extradition of both Echefu and Simon-Ebo. Ms. Hayes also recognized Assistant U.S. Attorney Megan S. McKoy who prosecuted the federal case.

For more information about the Maryland U.S. Attorney's Office, its priorities, and resources available to report fraud, please visit justice.gov/usao-md and justice.gov/usao-md/report-fraud.

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