A Nigerian national, Samuel Ugberaese, has been extradited to the United States to face prosecution over an alleged international romance fraud and money laundering scheme targeting elderly victims.
The extradition followed coordinated operations involving American and Nigerian law enforcement agencies, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the U.S. Department of Justice.
Ugberaese was arrested by the FBI after being extradited from Nigeria to the United States, where he is facing charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering before the U.S. District Court in North Carolina.
Authorities disclosed that a federal grand jury in the Eastern District of North Carolina had earlier returned an indictment against him on January 22, 2021.
According to court documents, Ugberaese and his alleged accomplices operated sophisticated romance scams that targeted victims through fake emotional relationships and fabricated stories designed to manipulate them into transferring money.
Prosecutors alleged that the suspect collaborated with co-defendant, Oluwadamilare Kolaogunbule, a naturalised U.S. citizen, to move and conceal proceeds of the alleged fraud through a network of bank accounts linked to purported export companies.
Investigators said the financial transactions were structured to disguise the source, ownership, and movement of funds allegedly obtained from victims.
Ugberaese appeared before United States Magistrate Judge Brian S. Myers, who ordered that he remain in custody pending trial.
If convicted on both charges, he could face up to 40 years imprisonment under U.S. federal law.
American authorities disclosed that the extradition process involved extensive cooperation among several agencies, including the FBI, the U.S. Department of State, the Nigeria Police Force through INTERPOL, Nigeria’s Ministry of Justice and Attorney General’s Office, as well as the South African Police Service.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Adam F. Hulbig of the Fraud Section in the Eastern District of North Carolina.
U.S. authorities stressed that the indictment remains only an allegation and that the suspect is presumed innocent until proven guilty in court.
Michael Olugbode
