Nigerian romance scam conviction: US jury finds Babajide Adesayo guilty of laundering more than $2.7m linked to online fraud targeting elderly victims

A federal jury in Atlanta, Georgia, convicted 41-year-old Nigerian businessman Babajide Adesayo on August 6, 2026, after an eight-day trial over allegations that he laundered more than $2.7 million obtained through romance fraud and other online scams targeting elderly Americans.

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Adesayo, who lives in Douglasville, Georgia, was found guilty of two counts of conspiracy to commit money laundering and 16 counts of transactional money laundering. His sentencing is scheduled for November 20, 2026, before United States District Judge Mark H. Cohen.

The case, brought in the Northern District of Georgia, dates back to an investigation that was already under way when Adesayo arrived at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport from Nigeria in April 2022.

Court records show that Homeland Security Investigations and the FBI had identified him as a target of a fraud investigation before that arrival.

Prosecutors alleged that between April 2020 and September 2021, members of the wider fraud network approached elderly victims online while pretending to be romantic partners, friends or business associates.

The victims were then persuaded to send money for invented emergencies, including medical bills, business equipment, injuries and supposed imprisonment.

The money, according to the prosecution’s case, was routed through accounts connected to Adesayo and his co-defendant, Efemena Igbe, another Nigerian national.

Court evidence described a system in which victims transferred substantial sums into business accounts associated with Igbe. Investigators alleged that much of the money was then represented as payment for vehicles purchased through Adesayo’s automobile business.

From there, prosecutors said Adesayo moved significant portions of the funds overseas, including to accounts in China, Hong Kong and Nigeria.

The scale of the transactions was central to the prosecution’s case. Over roughly 17 months, authorities alleged that more than $2.7 million in fraud proceeds passed through accounts and businesses linked to Adesayo.

The court record also provides a detailed picture of the investigation. In April 2022, federal agents arranged for Adesayo’s baggage to undergo secondary inspection when he arrived in Atlanta. Officers recovered several mobile phones and transferred them to Homeland Security Investigations for forensic examination.

Adesayo later challenged the use of evidence obtained from those devices, arguing that investigators had improperly searched them after taking them from the airport.

United States District Judge Mark H. Cohen rejected those arguments in December 2025.

The court found that the phone search qualified as a continuing border search and that investigators had acted within the scope of their authority.

The court also rejected Adesayo’s separate challenge to the search of electronic devices seized from his residence.

The ruling gave prosecutors access to evidence that became part of the case against Adesayo.

According to the court record, investigators found information on the phones including an image of Igbe’s driving licence and a cheque for Igbe that had been deposited into an account associated with Adesayo.

The court record also shows the extent to which investigators were focused on Adesayo before his arrest.

Special Agent Arthur Thomas Morrison testified that Adesayo’s arrival in Atlanta had been identified in advance through the passenger manifest and that agents asked Customs and Border Protection officers to inspect his belongings.

Morrison explained why investigators transported the phones to an HSI office a few miles from the airport rather than conducting the forensic examination immediately. “It was just much faster” to use the computer forensic division at the field office, he told the court.

The investigation later escalated into a federal prosecution. Adesayo was indicted in 2024 on money-laundering charges, according to the federal court record, which identifies the case as United States v. Babajide Adesayo, criminal case number 1:24-cr-00154-MHC-RGV.

The prosecution’s allegations also extended beyond the original period of the suspected laundering. US authorities said Adesayo continued moving money after his June 2024 arrest while awaiting trial.

His bond was subsequently revoked, and he has remained in federal custody since March 2, 2026, according to the account provided by US authorities.

The potential penalties are substantial. Each of the two money-laundering conspiracy convictions carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, while each transactional money-laundering conviction carries a maximum of 10 years.

Prosecutors may also seek an additional consecutive sentence of up to 10 years because of the allegation that Adesayo committed further offences while released on bond.

The final punishment, however, will be determined by Judge Cohen after consideration of the US Sentencing Guidelines. The guidelines provide recommended sentencing ranges but do not bind the judge.

The case also reflects the wider challenge posed by romance fraud in the United States.

Federal authorities have repeatedly warned that scammers exploit trust built through online relationships before manipulating victims into transferring money.

A recent US Justice Department case in Iowa illustrates the human cost. In July 2026, a woman involved in a nationwide romance scam was sentenced to 70 months in prison after receiving more than $1.6 million from victims.

The FBI said romance-related scams accounted for approximately 59,000 reported victims and more than $672 million in losses in 2024.

Other Nigerian nationals have faced similarly serious consequences in US courts. In June 2026, Nigerian national Franklin Ikechukwu Nwadialo was sentenced to five years in prison for a romance scam that prosecutors said extracted about $3.5 million from eight victims.

The federal cases underline the increasingly international nature of online financial crime.

Fraud proceeds can move rapidly between victims, domestic bank accounts, businesses and overseas destinations, creating complicated trails for investigators to reconstruct.

Adesayo’s case also shows how digital evidence can become central to such prosecutions. Investigators relied on mobile phones, financial records and information from business accounts to build their case, while the defendant’s attempts to suppress some of that evidence were rejected by the federal court.

For Adesayo, the jury’s August 6 verdict marks the end of the trial phase but not the conclusion of the case. He remains in federal custody and will return to court on November 20 for sentencing.

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Until then, the financial scale of the case remains striking: more than $2.7 million allegedly moved through a network that prosecutors said preyed on elderly victims by exploiting something as personal as the promise of companionship.