US-based Nigerian risks 52 years jail term for money laundering and fraud charges

Wednesday, March 12, 2025 - A 60-year-old man based in the United States, Bamikole Laniyan, is at the risk of a 52-year jail term and possible deportation after pleading guilty to his role in a $1.7m bank fraud and money laundering.

Laniyan, who is also known as Daniyan, alongside some other conspirators led by one Oluwaseun Adekoya, obtained personal identities of several US citizens to obtain loans, cash and cheques fraudulently at the victims’ financial institutions.

The statement also noted that Daniyan pleaded guilty to conspiracy, money laundering and identity theft following his arraignment at a New York court.

It read, “Daniyan pled guilty today to conspiracy to commit bank fraud, money laundering conspiracy, and aggravated identity theft. He admitted that, working with Adekoya, he obtained the personal identifying information of people residing all over the United States and recruited lower-level conspirators to impersonate them, using fake driving licences, to fraudulently obtain cash, checks, and loans at their financial institutions and merchandise using credit at retailers, including Saks Fifth Avenue.

“Daniyan also admitted to conspiring with Adekoya and others to launder the proceeds of their bank fraud by, among other things, using fraudulently obtained funds to purchase additional fake driving licences and depositing fraudulently obtained cheques into accounts in the names of identity-theft victims that co-conspirators controlled.

“Daniyan admitted that the bank fraud conspiracy netted over $1.7m in fraud proceeds, and was perpetrated in the Northern District of New York and all over the country.

The statement continued that Daniyan had been an illegal resident of the US since 1990 and was once convicted of a similar offence of identity theft.

It added that Daniyan and seven other co-conspirators were indicted in December 2023, the other co-conspirators had pleaded guilty to bank fraud conspiracy.

The statement read further, “According to documents previously filed in the case, Daniyan, a citizen of Nigeria, has been living in the United States without authorisation under numerous aliases since at least the 1990s when he was first investigated, charged, and convicted in another federal district under the stolen identity of a US citizen.

“Adekoya, Daniyan, Kennedy, and Barriera were originally indicted, along with co-conspirators, Jerjuan Joyner, age 50, of Brooklyn; Akeem Balogun, age 56, of Brooklyn; Danielle Cappetti, age 46, of the Bronx, and Lesley Lucchese, age 53, of Brooklyn, in connection with the conspiracy in an indictment returned in December 2023.

“Sherry Ozmore, Kennedy, Barriera, Joyner, Balogun, Cappetti, and Lucchese have pled guilty to bank fraud conspiracy.”

The US DoJ noted that following his guilty plea, Daniyan now faces a possible combined jail term of 52 years for the three offences and a possible deportation after the completion of the jail term during his sentencing scheduled for July 10, 2025.

He may also be subjected to five years of supervised release and the payment of at least $1,776,705.43 as restitution to the victims of the fraud.

“At sentencing on July 10, 2025, Daniyan faces a maximum term of 30 years in prison for the bank fraud conspiracy, 20 years in prison for the money laundering conspiracy, and a mandatory consecutive term of two years in prison for his conviction of aggravated identity theft; as well as an order of restitution of at least $1,776,705.43 and a term of supervised release of up to five years.

“Daniyan also agreed to forfeit nearly $100,000 in proceeds of the bank fraud conspiracy seized by federal authorities. A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the particular statutes the defendant is charged with violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other factors. Following his term of imprisonment, Daniyan will be placed into immigration removal proceedings,” the statement concluded.

Daniyan’s indictment joined the numerous clampdowns by the US authority on foreign criminals who had continued to perpetrate various offences ranging from fraud, sextortion, human trafficking, and drug trafficking among others.