Nigerian Man Who Fled US in 2019 Arrested at US Airport Over Elderly Fraud Scheme

A 34-year-old Nigerian man, Adetunji Abudu, has been arrested at Logan International Airport in Boston, Massachusetts, after fleeing the United States in 2019 amid allegations of fraud and money laundering targeting elderly Americans.

According to the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Rhode Island, Abudu was apprehended while attempting to re-enter the country from Istanbul, Turkey.

He is one of six defendants named in a superseding indictment alleging that millions of dollars obtained through online scams were laundered through US bank accounts and businesses.

The indictment claims the schemes involved romance scams, fake sweepstakes, fraudulent rental listings, and sham shipping transactions, with proceeds funneled through accounts in Rhode Island, Idaho, and other states before being sent to Nigeria.

Some of the funds were allegedly used to purchase vehicles that were shipped overseas.Authorities said Abudu fled to Nigeria after the FBI searched his residence in North Providence in 2019.

His co-defendants, Dotun Olawale Alonge, Oluwaseyi Akintol, Samson Ikotun, Olabode Shaba, and Oladipup Shodipu have since pleaded guilty to money laundering conspiracy, receiving sentences ranging from time served to 42 months in prison.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant US Attorney John P. McAdams and investigated by the FBI, with support from the US Postal Inspection Service and police departments in Ohio and Idaho.

The US Attorney’s Office emphasised that an indictment is only an accusation and that Abudu, like all defendants, is presumed innocent until proven guilty in court.