Olamide Shanu, a 35-year-old Nigerian, has pleaded guilty in a United States federal court to charges linked to an international sextortion, romance fraud and money laundering scheme that defrauded about 150 Americans of more than $2.5 million.
Shanu, who was extradited from Nigeria to the United States in 2025, faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. His sentencing is scheduled for December 15, 2026, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Idaho.
The U.S. Department of Justice said in a statement Tuesday that Shanu and his co-conspirators operated a financially motivated cyber-fraud scheme targeting victims across the United States.
According to court documents cited by the department, the group used social media to establish contact with victims and carried out both sextortion and romance scams.
In the sextortion scheme, Shanu and his associates allegedly posed as women online and persuaded male victims to send sexually explicit images of themselves. The victims were then threatened with having the images sent to their friends and relatives unless they paid money.
“Shanu and his co-conspirators typically targeted male victims, persuaded them to send sexual images of themselves, and then threatened to send the victim’s sexual images to the victim’s friends and family unless the victim made payments to the co-conspirators,” the Justice Department said.
The scheme also involved romance fraud, in which the conspirators allegedly used fake identities to develop deceptive emotional relationships with victims, including older men and women.
The indictment alleges that Shanu and his co-conspirators extorted victims in several states, including an individual in Idaho.
Prosecutors allege that Shanu obtained at least $2 million through the fraudulent schemes. The money was allegedly moved through peer-to-peer payment platforms and multiple cryptocurrency wallet addresses before being transferred to other members of the operation in Nigeria.
The U.S. Secret Service became involved after investigators traced transactions connected to the scheme to a Binance cryptocurrency account linked to Shanu.
The case forms part of a broader U.S. investigation into cyber-enabled fraud operations involving perpetrators and financial networks across multiple countries.
Following his extradition in 2025, Shanu faced federal charges relating to wire fraud, money laundering and sextortion. His guilty plea means the case will now proceed to sentencing.
Shanu's maximum potential sentence is 20 years in federal prison. The actual sentence will be determined by the court at the December 15 hearing.
