A 34-year-old Nigerian man, Adetunji Abudu, has been arrested at Boston Logan International Airport in the United States over an alleged multimillion-dollar money laundering conspiracy involving fraud schemes targeting elderly Americans.
According to the US Attorney’s Office for the District of Rhode Island, Abudu was arrested on Monday night while attempting to enter the United States from Istanbul, Turkey.
He appeared before the US District Court in Rhode Island on October 21, 2026, and was ordered to remain in detention pending trial, according to a statement released on October 26.
Abudu, who is from Lagos, is one of six defendants named in an amended indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Providence over an alleged conspiracy to launder millions of dollars obtained through fraud schemes operated from Nigeria.
The indictment alleged that the schemes targeted elderly Americans through online romance scams, fake sweepstakes, fraudulent rental listings and sham online shipping transactions.
Investigators said money allegedly obtained from victims was transferred through bank accounts and businesses in Rhode Island, Idaho and other locations before significant amounts were sent to Nigeria.
Members of the alleged group were also accused of using proceeds from the schemes to purchase vehicles and ship them overseas.
The US Attorney’s Office said Abudu left the United States for Nigeria in 2019 after the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) carried out a court-authorised search of his residence in North Providence.
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Five other defendants in the case — Dotun Olawale Alonge, Oluwaseyi Akintol, Samson Ikotun, Olabode Shaba and Oladipup Shodipu — have pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering.
They have reportedly received prison sentences ranging from time served to 42 months.
Assistant US Attorney John P. McAdams is prosecuting the case, while the investigation was conducted by the FBI with assistance from the US Postal Inspection Service and police departments in Tallmadge, Ohio, and Moscow, Idaho.
The US authorities stressed that the allegations against Abudu have not been proven in court. He is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
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