A Nigerian tech entrepreneur, Kingsley Inegbedion, has been arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for his alleged involvement in a $1.5m fraud scheme.
According to a 16-count indictment, filed on May 14 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, Atlanta Division, Inegbedion and his accomplice, Efemena Igbe, allegedly perpetrated romance scams and business email compromise, posing as legitimate businesses between April 2020 and May 2023.
“The sham corporate entities did not have physical premises, earn legitimate income, or pay wages to employees,” the FBI said in the indictment.
The FBI is seeking restitution of funds and forfeiture of property obtained through the fraud scheme.
“Upon conviction of the offences alleged in counts one through sixteen of this indictment, the defendants, Efemena Igbe and Kingsley Inegbedion, shall forfeit to the United States of America, pursuant to Title 18, United States Code, Section 982(a)(1), any property, real or personal, involved in such offence, and any property traceable to such property including, but not limited to, a money judgement, that is, a sum of money in United States currency representing the amount of property involved in the offence,” read the FBI statement.
Inegbedion was taken into custody after a grand jury returned the indictment, while Igbe is reportedly at large in Nigeria.