Six Nigerian Nationals Extradited to U.S. for $6 Million Romance Fraud Scheme Targeting American Women
Six Nigerian nationals have been extradited from South Africa to the United States to face charges related to an online romance fraud scheme. These individuals, arrested in Cape Town in 2021, are accused of defrauding over 100 American women of more than $6 million through elaborate online romantic relationships. The suspects were handed over to officials from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the U.S. Secret Service at Cape Town International Airport. They are alleged to be members of the Black Axe criminal network, which Interpol identifies as a significant perpetrator of cyber-enabled financial fraud globally, including romance scams, cryptocurrency fraud, and investment scams. The victims reportedly included pensioners and business executives. This extradition follows a broader Interpol operation against West African organized crime groups, which recently led to 58 arrests and the identification of 263 suspects linked to similar criminal networks, with operations in Johannesburg seizing $2....
