James Junior Aliyu, a 30-year-old Nigerian national who was living in South Africa at the time of his criminal activities, has pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering in a U.S. federal court.
Aliyu, who was arrested in South Africa and extradited to the United States, is the last of three defendants to admit his role in a sophisticated business email compromise (BEC) scheme. Eight other individuals had previously pleaded guilty in the District of Maryland in separate cases tied to the same conspiracy.
The announcement was made on August 26, 2025, by Kelly O. Hayes, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, alongside Acting Special Agent in Charge Evan Campanella of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) – Baltimore.
A federal grand jury had first indicted Aliyu, along with fellow Nigerian nationals Kosi Goodness Simon-Ebo, 30, and Henry Onyedikachi Echefu, 31, on June 24, 2019, for conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering. At the time of the crimes, all three defendants were residing in South Africa. The indictment was unsealed on July 6, 2022, following their arrests outside the United States.
According to court documents and Aliyu’s plea agreement, from February 2017 until at least July 2017, he conspired with others to execute a BEC scheme. The group targeted individuals and businesses by gaining unauthorized access to their email accounts, enabling them to divert funds illegally. Some co-conspirators were based in Maryland, adding a U.S. connection to the international fraud scheme.
Aliyu’s guilty plea marks the final chapter in this complex cross-border investigation, highlighting the ongoing efforts of U.S. authorities to combat sophisticated cybercrime and money laundering operations originating abroad.
Source: GoldmyneTV
