Nigerian James Aliyu jailed 90 months for US wire fraud
James Aliyu, a Nigerian national, has been sentenced to 90 months in prison for wire fraud and money laundering after being extradited from South Africa to the US. The US Immigration and Customs Agency (ICE) disclosed that Aliyu was convicted for hacking American business email servers as part of a wire fraud and money laundering conspiracy. A US court ordered him to forfeit $1.2 million and pay $2.4 million in restitution to victims. ICE stated Aliyu will be deported after completing his sentence. The investigation involved coordinated efforts between ICE Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) offices in Maryland and South Africa. This follows other Nigerian extraditions to the US for similar crimes, including Afeez Adewale in February and Okechukwu Odunna in March 2025.