A Nigerian national, James Junior Aliyu, has been sentenced to 90 months in prison in the United States for his involvement in a large-scale wire fraud and money laundering conspiracy linked to business email compromise schemes.
The conviction was disclosed by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement through its official X account on Saturday, where authorities said Aliyu played a central role in a cybercrime network that targeted business email servers and diverted millions of dollars through fraudulent transactions.
According to the agency, Aliyu was extradited from South Africa to face prosecution in the United States after investigators linked him to the transnational fraud operation.
“James Junior Aliyu will serve a 90-month sentence for his involvement in wire fraud and money laundering after planning to hack business email servers,” ICE said.
Authorities added that the court ordered him to forfeit $1.2 million and pay $2.4 million in restitution to victims affected by the fraud. Upon completion of his prison term, he is expected to be deported from the United States.
ICE noted that investigators in Maryland and South Africa worked jointly as part of an international law enforcement effort that led to his prosecution.
Earlier details released by the United States Department of Justice showed that the 30-year-old had pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
Court records indicate that Aliyu was the last of three defendants to admit guilt in a broader business email compromise (BEC) conspiracy, while eight others had previously entered guilty pleas in related cases before the United States District Court for the District of Maryland.
According to prosecutors, the fraud scheme operated between February and July 2017, during which members of the syndicate gained unauthorised access to corporate and individual email accounts.
The group then sent fake payment instructions through spoofed emails, deceiving victims into transferring funds into bank accounts controlled by the conspirators.
Investigators said the network also laundered the proceeds by moving money through multiple accounts, cash withdrawals, cashier’s cheques, and layered financial transactions designed to conceal the origin of the stolen funds.
The indictment against Aliyu and two co-defendants was originally returned by a federal grand jury in June 2019 and later unsealed after their arrests outside the United States, leading to extradition proceedings and eventual prosecution.
