A United States court has sentenced Samuel Abiodun, a
25-year-old Nigerian man, to five years imprisonment over his role in a
sextortion scheme that led to the death of a teenager.
In a statement on Wednesday, David Metcalf, the US attorney
for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, said Abiodun was sentenced on July
10.
Abiodun and an accomplice named Afeez Adewale were arrested
in Nigeria and extradited in July 2024.
Both suspects were charged before a court in August 2024.
Metcalf said Abiodun served as a financial middleman in a
network that targeted and extorted vulnerable young people online with
devastating consequences.
“As the financial middleman, Abiodun played a key role in
this sextortion scheme, which thoroughly traumatised the victim and then
devastated his family,” the attorney said.
“These scammers’ sole aim is to get money from scared and
vulnerable young people, with absolutely no regard for their feelings or the
potential fallout.
“In prosecuting this case, we are bringing to justice the
men whose actions resulted in truly indelible harm.”
Abiodun pleaded guilty in December 2024 to conspiracy to
commit money laundering and wire fraud.
On Tuesday, Joel Slomsky, US district judge, sentenced
Abiodun to five years in prison.
“He and co-defendant Imoleayo Samuel Aina, aka ‘Alice Dave’,
27, were arrested on a complaint and warrant in Nigeria, taken into custody by
the FBI on July 31, 2024, and extradited to the United States to face charges
in this case,” Metcalf added.
“They and another Nigerian co-defendant, Afeez Olatunji
Adewale, 25, were then charged by indictment in August 2024.”
Aina pleaded guilty to cyberstalking, interstate threat to
injure reputation, receiving proceeds of extortion, money laundering
conspiracy, and wire fraud in May 2025. He is, however, awaiting his sentencing
scheduled for August 11.
Metcalf added that a third accomplice, Adewale, who is yet
to be extradited from Nigeria, has also been charged in absentia.
“Adewale has been charged with money laundering conspiracy
and wire fraud. He remains in Nigeria, pending extradition to the US,” Metcalf
said.
“We also want to send a message to others like them that the
department of justice’s reach is long, and if they keep extorting innocent
Americans, they could find themselves in an American prison.”
The US attorney acknowledged the role of the Nigerian
government and relevant agencies in the extradition of Abiodun and Aina.
“The support and assistance of Nigerian security authorities
were essential to this effort, notably that of Nigeria’s attorney general of
the federation and minister of justice, the federal ministry of justice’s
international criminal justice cooperation department, and the Economic and
Financial Crimes Commission,” Metcalf said.
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