The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Rhode Island said Adetunji Abudu, from Lagos, was arrested at Logan International Airport in Boston, Massachusetts, while attempting to enter the country from Istanbul, Turkey.
In a statement published on Monday, the office said Abudu was one of six defendants charged in a superseding indictment alleging that millions of dollars obtained through fraud schemes operated from Nigeria were laundered through bank accounts and businesses in the US.
According to the indictment, the schemes allegedly targeted elderly Americans through online romance scams, fraudulent sweepstakes, fake rental listings and sham online shipping transactions.
The statement said money obtained from victims was allegedly channelled through accounts and businesses in Rhode Island, Idaho and other locations, with significant proceeds ultimately sent to Nigeria.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant US Attorney John P. McAdams and was investigated by the FBI, with assistance from the US Postal Inspection Service and police departments in Tallmadge, Ohio, and Moscow, Idaho.
The US Attorney’s Office stressed that an indictment is an accusation and that a defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.
