{"id":14768,"date":"2025-08-02T07:37:07","date_gmt":"2025-08-02T07:37:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nigeriastandardnewspaper.com\/a\/?p=14768"},"modified":"2025-08-02T07:37:07","modified_gmt":"2025-08-02T07:37:07","slug":"caught-nigerian-fugitive-oluwaseun-adekoya-king-of-fraud-in-new-york-busted-from-hideout-for-stealing-over-2million","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nigeriastandardnewspaper.com\/a\/caught-nigerian-fugitive-oluwaseun-adekoya-king-of-fraud-in-new-york-busted-from-hideout-for-stealing-over-2million\/","title":{"rendered":"CAUGHT: Nigerian Fugitive, OLUWASEUN ADEKOYA King of Fraud in New York busted from hideout for STEALING over $2million"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\u2026He\u2019s sleek, drives expensive automobiles, residing in luxurious estate of the elites <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

*Suspect living in Cliffside Park, New Jersey, notoriously known as \u2018Broda\u2019, Ace G\u2019, Legendary\u2019; Santa\u2019, Santana\u2019, Sammy LaBanco\u2019; Sean Maison\u2019, King Maison\u2019<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong>*Mastermind a nationwide conspiracy to hack <\/strong>identities and impersonate customers at banks and credit unions throughout the United States<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong>*39-year-old convicted by a jury of bank fraud conspiracy, money laundering conspiracy, and nine counts of aggravated identity theft<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong>*United States Attorney John A. Sarcone III and Craig L. Tremaroli, Special Agent in Charge of the Albany Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation released press statement <\/strong><\/p>\n

*\u201cMr. Oluwaseun Adekoya was the mastermind of a complex web of deception, but he couldn\u2019t escape the reach of the FBI and our partners. We are incredibly grateful to the numerous states; local law enforcement and banking institution partners who helped bring this investigation to a successful conviction. Our communities should rest assured the FBI will continue to use every investigative tool we have to bring to justice anyone looking to line their pockets at the expense of hard-working Americans\u201d<\/span>–<\/strong>FBI<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong>*BY TOPE ADELUYI\/CRIME & JUSTICE REPORTER, NEW YORK, NAIJA STANDARD NEWSPAPER Inc USA<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

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HE IS NOTORIOUS IN THE UNITED STATES. He\u2019s sleek, drives expensive automobiles, living in a luxurious mansion of the elites in Cliffside Park, New Jersey. His name is Oluwaseun Adekoya, a Nigerian born man referred to as \u2018King of Fraud in New York\u2019. He uses several aliases to avert the eagle eyes of law enforcement agencies. Yet, this suspect has been caught, convicted for stealing over $2million hard-earned money of vulnerable Americans.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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Oluwaseun Adekoya, a\/k\/a \u201cAce G.,\u201d a\/k\/a \u201cBRODA,\u201d a\/k\/a \u201cLegendary, a\/k\/a \u201cSANTA,\u201d a\/k\/a \u201cSANTANA,\u201d a\/k\/a \u201cSammy LaBanco,\u201d a\/k\/a\/ \u201cSean Maison,\u201d a\/k\/a \u201dKiing_maison,\u201d,\u201d age 39, of Cliffside Park, New Jersey, was convicted by a jury of bank fraud conspiracy, money laundering conspiracy, and nine counts of aggravated identity theft for his role as the mastermind of a nationwide conspiracy to steal identities and impersonate customers at banks and credit unions throughout the United States. \u00a0United States Attorney John A. Sarcone III and Craig L. Tremaroli, Special Agent in Charge of the Albany Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), made the announcement.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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\u201cWith the last set of pleas in this case, I said, \u2018and then there was one;\u2019 now, there are none,\u201d United States Attorney John A. Sarcone III said.\u00a0 \u201cI commend the work of the FBI Albany, local law enforcement agencies and credit unions across the country, and Broadview Federal Credit Union here in Albany for bringing this relentless scammer to justice.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Special Agent in Charge Tremaroli said, \u201cMr. Adekoya was the mastermind of a complex web of deception, but he couldn\u2019t escape the reach of the FBI and our partners. We are incredibly grateful to the numerous state and local law enforcement and banking institution partners who helped bring this investigation to a successful conviction. Our communities should rest assured the FBI will continue to use every investigative tool we have to bring to justice anyone looking to line their pockets at the expense of hard-working Americans.\u201d<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

The government called over 60 witnesses to trial, which lasted two and a half weeks.\u00a0 Proof at trial established that from the comfort of his luxury apartment in New Jersey, Adekoya, a career fraudster, obtained publicly available information regarding people\u2019s home equity lines of credit (\u201cHELOCs\u201d) at localized credit unions throughout the United States, shifting his focus over time to different parts of the country to avoid law enforcement scrutiny.\u00a0 <\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

He then utilized encrypted messaging platforms, like Telegram, to obtain Social Security numbers, account numbers, mother\u2019s maiden names, and other personal identifying information (\u201cPII\u201d) for individuals he had identified as having substantial amounts of equity available in their HELOCs.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0Adekoya then recruited a vast web of managers located all over the country, who he supplied this information to, along with fake driver\u2019s licenses for lower-level workers to use to impersonate the HELOC customers and conduct withdrawal transactions on their accounts.\u00a0 To insulate himself from detection, Adekoya utilized a web of \u201cburner\u201d phones and encrypted messaging applications and laundered his substantial share of the proceeds through bank accounts in other people\u2019s names.\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0Adekoya also reinvested some of the proceeds into continuing the fraud scheme by purchasing air and bus travel for coconspirators, fake driver\u2019s licenses, and rental cars used to drive workers to credit unions.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

As set forth in pretrial pleadings, Adekoya \u2013 who was admitted to the United States as a Lawful Permanent Resident in 2000 \u2013 has been convicted of numerous increasingly sophisticated identity-fraud related felonies since he was 23 years old in 2008.\u00a0 He has never been removed from the country.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The investigation into Adekoya began in May 2022, when Broadview Federal Credit Union (formerly CAP COM Federal Credit Union and State Employees Federal Credit Union (SEFCU)), headquartered in Albany, identified a series of impersonation transactions at its branches in the Capital Region and referred the case to the FBI-Albany.\u00a0 The ensuing investigation led to the discovery of Adekoya as the mastermind of the nationwide operation and the prosecution of 13 additional coconspirators, all of whom have pled guilty for their roles in the offenses.\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

The defendant\u2019s conspiracies were brought to a screeching halt by his federal arrest on an initial indictment on December 12, 2023.\u00a0 He has since been detained and the government twice superseded the indictment to add additional coconspirators and charges.\u00a0 Evidence at trial showed that when the FBI attempted to enter the defendant\u2019s luxury apartment on December 12, 2023, to execute a federal search warrant, Adekoya wiped the primary phone he had used to orchestrate the conspiracy.\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n

Nonetheless, the FBI seized numerous \u201cburner\u201d phones used by Adekoya to perpetrate the charged crimes. The FBI also seized hundreds of thousands of dollars\u2019 worth of luxury merchandise, including Rolex watches, a $51,000 Tiffany engagement ring, and designer handbags and shoes, and approximately $26,000 in a bank account used by the defendant to launder his proceeds.\u00a0 Those items have since been forfeited by the government.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Adekoya\u2019s sentencing is scheduled for October 30, 2025, before the Honorable Mae A. D\u2019Agostino, U.S. District Judge. He faces a mandatory minimum of 2 years\u2019 incarceration, a maximum of 32 years\u2019 incarceration, restitution, forfeiture of the fruits of his offenses, up to five years of supervised release, and is subject to removal and deportation following his sentence.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

The following defendants previously pled guilty in connection with the conspiracies and all face sentence later this year:\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n