Operation Catch Me if You Can: Elusive Nigerian Ringleader of Nationwide Bank Fraud and Money Laundering Conspiracies Convicted After Two and a Half Week Trial

ALBANY, NEW YORK – Oluwaseun Adekoya, a/k/a “Ace G.,” a/k/a “BRODA,” a/k/a “Legendary, a/k/a “SANTA,” a/k/a “SANTANA,” a/k/a “Sammy LaBanco,” a/k/a/ “Sean Maison,” a/k/a ”Kiing_maison,”,” 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.  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 (FBI), made the announcement.

“With the last set of pleas in this case, I said, ‘and then there was one;’ now, there are none,” United States Attorney John A. Sarcone III said.  “I 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.”  

Special Agent in Charge Tremaroli said, “Mr. Adekoya was the mastermind of a complex web of deception, but he couldn’t 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.”

The government called over 60 witnesses at trial, which lasted two and a half weeks.  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’s home equity lines of credit (“HELOCs”) at localized credit unions throughout the United States, shifting his focus over time to different parts of the country to avoid law enforcement scrutiny.  He then utilized encrypted messaging platforms, like Telegram, to obtain Social Security numbers, account numbers, mother’s maiden names, and other personal identifying information (“PII”) for individuals he had identified as having substantial amounts of equity available in their HELOCs.  Adekoya then recruited a vast web of managers located all over the country, who he supplied this information to, along with fake driver’s licenses for lower-level workers to use to impersonate the HELOC customers and conduct withdrawal transactions on their accounts.  To insulate himself from detection, Adekoya utilized a web of “burner” phones and encrypted messaging applications and laundered his substantial share of the proceeds through bank accounts in other people’s names.  Adekoya also reinvested some of the proceeds into continuing the fraud scheme by purchasing air and bus travel for coconspirators, fake driver’s licenses, and rental cars used to drive workers to credit unions.

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

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.  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. 

The defendant’s conspiracies were brought to a screeching halt by his federal arrest on an initial indictment on December 12, 2023.  He has since been detained and the government twice superseded the indictment to add additional coconspirators and charges.  Evidence at trial showed that when the FBI attempted to enter the defendant’s luxury apartment on December 12, 2023, to execute a federal search warrant, Adekoya wiped the primary phone he had used to orchestrate the conspiracy.  Nonetheless, the FBI seized numerous “burner” phones used by Adekoya to perpetrate the charged crimes. The FBI also seized of hundreds of thousands of dollars’ 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.  Those items have since been forfeited by the government.

Adekoya’s sentencing is scheduled for October 30, 2025, before the Honorable Mae A. D’Agostino, U.S. District Judge. He faces a mandatory minimum of 2 years’ incarceration, a maximum of 32 years’ 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.

The following defendants previously pled guilty in connection with the conspiracies and all face sentencing later this year: 

• David Daniyan, a/k/a “Bamikole Laniyan,” a/k/a “David Enfield,” a/k/a “Africa,” age 61, of Brooklyn, New York, pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, one count of money laundering conspiracy, and one count of aggravated identity theft;
• Kani Bassie, a/k/a “$,” age 36, of Brooklyn, New York, pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, one count of money laundering conspiracy, and one count of aggravated identity theft;
• Davon Hunter, a/k/a “Scams,” age 27, of Richmond, Virginia, pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft;
• Christian Quivers, a/k/a “Denzel Carter,” a/k/a “E,” of Richmond, Virginia, pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft;
• Jermon Brooks, a/k/a “JayB,” a/k/a “beezy,” age 20, of Richmond, Virginia, pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft;
• Akeem Balogun, 56, of Brooklyn, New York, pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud;
• Victor Barriera, 64, of Bronx, New York, pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud;
• Danielle Cappetti, 46, of Bronx, New York, pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud;
• Jerjuan Joyner, 50, of Brooklyn, New York, pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud;
• Gaysha Kennedy, 46, of Brooklyn, New York, pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud;
• Crystal Kurschner, 44, of Brooklyn, New York, pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud;
• Leslie Lucchese, 53, of Manhattan, pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud; and
• Sherry Ozmore, 56, of Richmond, Virginia, pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud.

FBI-Albany investigated the case and obtained invaluable assistance from numerous law enforcement agencies all over the country.  Those include the FBI Field Offices in New York, Newark, Richmond, Chicago and Resident Agencies in Westchester, New York; Brooklyn/Queens, New York; Garrett Mountain, New Jersey; La Crosse, Wisconsin; Fort Walton Beach, Florida; and York, Pennsylvania.  Additional assistance was provided by other law enforcement agencies, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement – Enforcement & Removal Operations (New York Field Office & Albany sub-office); U.S. Department of State Diplomatic Security Service (Buffalo Field Office & St. Albans Resident Office); U.S. Social Security Administration – Office of the Inspector General; U.S. Postal Inspection Service; New York law enforcement agencies including the New York State Police; Cohoes PD; Colonie PD; Elmira PD; Corning PD; Plattsburgh PD; Albany County Sheriff’s Office; and Rensselaer County Sheriff’s Office; Florida law enforcement agencies including the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office and Escambia County Sheriff’s Office; Pennsylvania law enforcement agencies including the Pennsylvania State Police and Franklin County District Attorney’s Office; Alabama law enforcement agencies including the Calhoun County Sheriff’s Office, Gasden PD, and Rainbow City PD; Georgia law enforcement agencies including the Georgia State Patrol, Bartow County Sheriff’s Office, Coweta County Sheriff’s Office, Fayette County Sheriff’s Office, and Morrow PD; Kansas law enforcement agencies including Lawrence PD and Overland Park PD; New Hampshire law enforcement agencies including Rochester PD, Manchester PD, and Amherst PD; the Delaware State Police; Maryland law enforcement agencies including the Maryland State Police, Harford County Sheriff’s Office and Baltimore County Sheriff’s Office; the Virginia State Police; Wisconsin law enforcement agencies including Onalaska PD and Eau Claire PD; and Indiana law enforcement agencies including the Allen County Sheriff’s Office.

Assistant United States Attorneys Benjamin S. Clark, Mathew M. Paulbeck, and Joshua R. Rosenthal are prosecuting this case.