The United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has arrested a Nigerian national, Rotimi Oladimeji, who was previously convicted of fraud, in an ongoing operation targeting illegal immigrants across the country.
ICE, in a statement posted on its official X handle on Monday, said Oladimeji had been ordered to pay over $1.1 million in restitution before his arrest by its New Orleans office.
The agency noted: “Nigerian criminal alien Rotimi Oladimeji’s criminal history includes mail and wire fraud. He was ordered to pay $1.1M+ in restitution before ICE New Orleans arrested him.”
Court records show that Oladimeji was sentenced to three years’ imprisonment by a US District Court in December 2023 after pleading guilty to wire fraud and conspiracy charges. He was convicted for assisting other scammers in Nigeria to defraud a woman who believed she was in a romantic relationship with a fictitious veterinarian and animal behaviourist based in St. Louis.
According to the US Department of Justice (DoJ), the scheme began in October 2019 when Oladimeji told the victim that the supposed veterinarian was travelling to Dubai and would not be allowed to leave unless she sent money. Over time, the victim was persuaded to transfer multiple payments ranging from four to five figures, eventually losing nearly $1.17 million.
Investigators revealed that Oladimeji received 20 per cent of the proceeds, while his accomplices, identified as Akinrinmade and Adesanya, also took a cut before sending the remainder to fraudsters in Nigeria.
Following his guilty plea in 2022, Oladimeji was sentenced to prison and ordered to pay restitution. He was also placed on deportation watch but remained in the US after completing his sentence.
His latest arrest forms part of a broader clampdown on illegal and criminal migrants by ICE, a policy priority that has seen thousands detained across the country.
