Six Nigerians extradited to U.S. in romance scam case

Six Nigerian nationals accused of helping swindle American women out of more than $6 million through online romance scams were extradited from South Africa to the United States on Friday to face federal charges.

The men, arrested in Cape Town in 2021, were handed over at Cape Town International Airport to officials from the FBI and the U.S. Secret Service, South African police said. They face wire fraud and money laundering charges in the United States.

South African police said the suspects are accused of targeting more than 100 women in the U.S. through online romance or love scams. The alleged victims included pensioners and businesspeople who were drawn into sophisticated online relationships, police said.

“Through the coordination of Interpol South Africa, the six will today be transported from a correctional facility in Cape Town to Cape Town International Airport, where they will be handed over to officials from the FBI and the United States Secret Service, who arrived in South Africa this morning,” police spokesperson Katlego Mogale said.

The Guardian reported that South Africa’s Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation, known as the Hawks, helped facilitate the handover in collaboration with Interpol South Africa.

Authorities say the men are linked to the Black Axe, an organized criminal network that Interpol has described as part of a broader set of criminal groups responsible for a significant share of global cyber-enabled financial fraud. Those crimes often involve romance scams, cryptocurrency schemes and investment fraud.

The extradition comes less than two years after a prominent Black Axe leader was extradited to the United States on allegations that he conspired to engage in internet scams and money laundering, CBS News reported.

The case is part of a broader international effort to disrupt West African organized crime groups tied to cyber fraud. Interpol said last month that a recent operation led to 58 arrests and the identification of 263 suspects linked to various criminal networks involved in similar crimes. The operation was aimed at disrupting money laundering, identifying high-value targets, seizing assets and supporting arrests and prosecutions.

In South Africa, authorities raided seven locations in Johannesburg connected to a syndicate accused of running romance and investment scams that targeted retirees in English-speaking countries. During that operation, police arrested 39 people, seized $2.67 million and froze more than 250 bank accounts, Interpol said.

Romance scams have caused growing losses in the United States. More than 64,000 Americans lost over $1 billion to such schemes in 2023, double the $500 million reported four years earlier, according to the Federal Trade Commission, CBS News reported.

CBS News also reported that a 2024 investigation uncovered a large-scale romance scam operation in Ghana. A syndicate boss there who called himself Voodu told CBS News, “I fish everywhere in the world.” Asked about the easiest victims to catch, he said, “They are Americans.”