U.S.-based Oluwasegun Baiyewu jailed for laundering $3.1 million via car shipments to Nigeria
U.S.-based Oluwasegun Baiyewu jailed for laundering $3.1 million via car shipments to Nigeria
The DoJ said between May 2020 and October 2021, Mr Baiyewu worked with at least six other co-conspirators in the United States and Nigeria.
U.S. court on Friday sentenced a Nigerian national, Oluwasegun Baiyewu, to 95 months in prison for his role in a money laundering conspiracy involving millions of dollars tied to various fraud schemes — including business email compromise, romance, and unemployment insurance fraud scams —perpetrated against U.S. citizens.
His sentencing comes after a federal jury convicted him in August 2025 of one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, U.S. Department of Justice said in a statement on Friday.
Mr Baiyewu, 40, of Houston, Texas, led a conspiracy that laundered over $3.1 million in proceeds of various fraud schemes by purchasing used cars with illicit proceeds and then shipping them to West Africa.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, between May 2020 and October 2021, Mr Baiyewu worked with at least six other co-conspirators in the United States and Nigeria.
“Using encrypted messaging applications, such as WhatsApp, Baiyewu and his co-conspirators coordinated the receipt and use of illicit money to purchase salvaged cars and then ship them to Nigeria,” it said.
Investigations by the DoJ showed that “In one instance, Baiyewu conspired to launder funds obtained from a business email compromise scheme perpetrated against a Puerto Rican renewable energy company, which was tricked into sending approximately $280,000 by wire to bank accounts controlled by fraudsters and money launderers.”
“Mr Baiyewu then worked with his co-conspirators to launder the Puerto Rican company’s money by paying toward the purchase of cars located in the United States that he arranged to export and ship to Nigeria to benefit the co-conspirators,” the DoJ said.
