Nigerian National James Junior Aliyu Sentenced to 7 Years in US Prison for $1.5M Wire Fraud Conspiracy
A federal court in the United States has sentenced Nigerian national James Junior Aliyu to 90 months (approximately 7.5 years) in prison for his leadership role in a sophisticated Business Email Compromise (BEC) and money laundering ring.
The sentence, announced by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on March 21, 2026, marks the final chapter for the three primary defendants in the case.
Aliyu was extradited from South Africa to Maryland to face justice after a multi-year international investigation.
According to his plea agreement, between February and July 2017, Aliyu and his co-conspirators hacked business email servers to send "spoofed" messages.
These forged emails deceived victims into sending millions of dollars to "drop accounts" controlled by the criminal syndicate.
The court found that while the intended loss from Aliyu's specific transactions exceeded $4.1 million, the actual loss to victims was at least $1.57 million.
“James Junior Aliyu will serve a 90-month sentence... He was slapped with a $1.2M forfeiture order and a $2.4M restitution order and will be removed from the United States when he completes his sentence,” the ICE statement confirmed.
In addition to the prison term, Aliyu must forfeit $1.2 million in criminal proceeds and pay $2.4 million in restitution to his victims.
Upon completion of his sentence, he will be deported from the United States back to Nigeria.
His co-defendants, Kosi Goodness Simon-Ebo and Henry Onyedikachi Echefu, had previously pleaded guilty to similar charges.
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