US arrests Nigerian man who fled to Nigeria in 2019 over money laundering

A 34-year-old Nigerian man, Adetunji Abudu, has been arrested in the United States over an alleged money laundering conspiracy involving millions of dollars obtained through fraud schemes targeting elderly Americans. Abudu, from Lagos, Nigeria, was arrested on Monday night at Logan Airport in Boston, Massachusetts, while attempting to re-enter the United States from Istanbul, Turkey.

According to a statement from US authorities, he appeared before the US District Court in Rhode Island on October 21, 2026, and was ordered detained pending trial. He is one of six defendants charged in a superseding indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Providence over an alleged conspiracy to launder proceeds from multiple fraud schemes operated from Nigeria.

The schemes allegedly targeted elderly US residents through online romance scams, fraudulent sweepstakes, false rental listings and sham online shipping transactions. According to the indictment, money obtained from victims was allegedly channelled through bank accounts and businesses in Rhode Island, Idaho and other locations, with significant proceeds ultimately transferred to Nigeria.

Members of the alleged conspiracy were also accused of purchasing vehicles with illicit proceeds and shipping them overseas. US authorities said Abudu fled the country to Nigeria in 2019 after the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) executed a court-authorised search of his residence in North Providence. Five of his co-defendants — Dotun Olawale Alonge, Oluwaseyi Akintol, Samson Ikotun, Olabode Shaba and Oladipup Shodipu — have since pleaded guilty to money laundering conspiracy.

They received sentences ranging from time served to 42 months’ imprisonment, according to the statement. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant US Attorney John P. McAdams. The FBI investigated the matter with assistance from the US Postal Inspection Service and the Tallmadge Police Department in Ohio and the Moscow Police Department in Idaho. The allegations against Abudu remain unproven in court.

He is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.