Houston Man Gets Nearly 8 Years for Laundering $3.1 Million in Scam Proceeds Through Car Shipments

August 31, 2026

$3.1 million money laundering scheme — Federal prosecutors say Oluwasegun Baiyewu led a conspiracy that laundered more than $3.1 million from business email compromise, romance and unemployment fraud schemes by purchasing used and salvaged vehicles in the United States and shipping them to West Africa. I am from Mykolayiv/Shutterstock

A Houston man has been sentenced to nearly eight years in federal prison for leading a conspiracy that laundered more than $3.1 million stolen through business email compromise, romance scams and unemployment insurance fraud.

Oluwasegun Baiyewu, 40, a Nigerian national living in Houston, was sentenced August 27 to 95 months in prison after a federal jury convicted him in August 2025 of one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Baiyewu and his co-conspirators converted fraud proceeds into used and salvaged vehicles in the United States and then shipped the cars overseas.

More Than $3.1 Million Was Laundered Through Car Purchases

According to the Justice Department’s announcement, Baiyewu led a conspiracy involving at least six other people in the United States and Nigeria between approximately May 2020 and October 2021.

The money came from several types of fraud targeting people and businesses in the United States, including romance scams, unemployment insurance fraud and business email compromise schemes.

Rather than simply transferring all of the proceeds overseas, the conspirators used illicit money to purchase used and salvaged vehicles in the United States.

The vehicles were then shipped to West Africa, including Nigeria, effectively converting money obtained through fraud into physical assets that could be moved internationally.

DOJ says Baiyewu and his co-conspirators used encrypted messaging applications, including WhatsApp, to coordinate the receipt and use of illicit funds and the purchase and shipment of vehicles.

One Business Lost Approximately $280,000

Federal prosecutors highlighted one business email compromise scheme involving a renewable energy company in Puerto Rico.

The company was tricked into wiring approximately $280,000 to bank accounts controlled by fraudsters and money launderers.

Baiyewu then worked with co-conspirators to use part of the company’s stolen money toward purchasing vehicles in the United States, according to DOJ. He arranged for the cars to be exported and shipped to Nigeria for the benefit of co-conspirators.

Business email compromise scams typically involve criminals impersonating a trusted person or organization—or compromising a legitimate email account—to convince a business or individual to redirect money to an account controlled by fraudsters.

The Puerto Rico example illustrates why a convincing email involving a legitimate transaction can still result in a substantial loss if payment instructions have secretly been changed.

The Case Stretched From 2021 to the 2026 Sentencing

Baiyewu was initially charged in October 2021, and federal prosecutors expanded the case in a 2023 superseding indictment involving additional defendants.

The Justice Department said at the time that the broader conspiracy involved proceeds from international fraud schemes, including romance, pandemic-related unemployment insurance fraud and business email compromise scams.

Federal prosecutors alleged that fraud proceeds were moved through hundreds of transactions, including cashier’s checks and money orders that were then used to purchase vehicles for shipment overseas.

A federal jury ultimately convicted Baiyewu in August 2025 of one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering.

His 95-month sentence imposed in August 2026 amounts to seven years and 11 months in federal prison.

The Investigation Involved Several Federal Agencies

The U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Department of Labor Office of Inspector General and FBI San Juan Cyber Task Force investigated the case.

The National Unemployment Insurance Fraud Task Force also assisted the investigation.

Prosecutors from the Justice Department Criminal Division’s White Collar and Corporate Enforcement Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Puerto Rico handled the prosecution.

DOJ says the case is also part of its Cyber-Enabled Scam Initiative, an effort targeting criminal networks involved in crimes including investment and cryptocurrency scams, government impersonation, romance and inheritance scams, financially motivated sextortion and lottery and sweepstakes fraud.

The Criminal Division is also a founding member of the Scam Center Strike Force, which DOJ says was launched in November 2025 to strengthen efforts against cyber-enabled financial crime.

The $280,000 Loss Is a Reminder for Businesses

The case offers a particularly useful warning for businesses because business email compromise can exploit transactions employees are already expecting to make.

A request to wire money may appear to come from a vendor, executive, attorney or other trusted party while directing payment to an account controlled by criminals.

Businesses can reduce that risk by establishing procedures for independently verifying changes to payment instructions, particularly before large wire transfers. Employees should use a trusted phone number or other previously established contact method rather than simply replying to the email requesting the change.

Romance scams operate differently but can similarly rely on building enough trust that a victim voluntarily sends money based on a false story or relationship.

In Baiyewu’s case, prosecutors ultimately followed more than $3.1 million in proceeds beyond the initial scams to a laundering operation that transformed stolen money into vehicles for shipment overseas—showing that the financial trail from a scam victim can extend far beyond the bank account where the money first lands.