James Junior Aliyu, a 30-year-old Nigerian living in South Africa at the time of the crimes, has admitted to participating in a conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering.
Aliyu, arrested and extradited from South Africa to the U.S., is the final defendant of three to plead guilty in a business email compromise (BEC) fraud case.
Eight other individuals previously admitted guilt in separate but related cases in the District of Maryland.
U.S. Attorney for Maryland, Kelly O. Hayes, along with Acting Special Agent Evan Campanella of Homeland Security Investigations in Baltimore, announced Aliyu’s guilty plea on August 26, 2025.
A federal grand jury indicted Aliyu, along with Kosi Goodness Simon-Ebo, 30, and Henry Onyedikachi Echefu, 31, on June 24, 2019. They were charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering.
All three men, Nigerian citizens residing in South Africa at the time, were arrested outside the U.S., and the indictment was publicly revealed on July 6, 2022. They were later extradited to face federal charges in the United States.
Aliyu’s plea agreement states that from February to July 2017, he worked with others to carry out a BEC scam. The group illegally accessed email accounts of individuals and companies they targeted.
They sent fake wiring instructions from forged email addresses to trick victims into transferring money into bank accounts controlled by the scammers, known as “drop accounts.”
During the same period, Aliyu and his partners also planned money laundering.
They moved the stolen funds through drop accounts, bank transfers, cash withdrawals, and checks to hide the origin and ownership of the money.
According to the plea, the intended loss in Aliyu’s direct transactions was over $4.16 million, with actual losses reaching $1.57 million. Aliyu directly handled at least $1.19 million of the stolen funds.
He must pay a money judgment of at least $1.19 million and restitution covering at least $2.38 million in total victim losses.
Aliyu faces up to 20 years in federal prison for the wire fraud and money laundering conspiracy. His sentencing is set for Monday, November 24, at 10 a.m., presided over by U.S. District Judge Deborah L. Boardman.
U.S. Attorney Hayes praised the HSI Mid-Atlantic El Dorado Task Force for the investigation and thanked South Africa’s justice and police authorities for their assistance.
The U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs helped secure Aliyu’s extradition from South Africa.
DOJ and Canadian authorities also aided in arresting and extraditing Echefu and Simon-Ebo. Assistant U.S. Attorney Megan S. McKoy is leading the prosecution.
