FBI arrested Samuel Kwadwo Osei over multimillion-dollar ‘sakawa’

A Ghanaian man, Samuel Kwadwo Osei, believed to be the leader of a fraud syndicate operating in the United States, has been arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) along with several accomplices, including a Nigerian computer programmer known as Sapphire Egemasi, often referred to in the media as Nigeria’s “tech queen.”

Reports from Nigerian news outlets, including Peoples Gazette and Daily Post, indicate that the group was apprehended on April 10, 2025. They are currently in FBI custody and face serious charges for defrauding multiple U.S. government institutions of millions of dollars.

The syndicate allegedly engaged in large-scale internet fraud and money laundering activities between September 2021 and February 2023. Their primary method involved using phishing schemes and fake websites to deceive U.S. government employees and redirect public funds into fraudulent accounts.

Among the agencies reportedly affected was the city government of Kentucky. Court documents revealed that the group managed to steal millions of dollars by gaining access to employee login credentials through spoofed portals of government websites. These fake websites were reportedly created and managed by Sapphire Egemasi.

Egemasi’s technical role in the operation involved designing cloned websites of U.S. government platforms. Through these spoofed domains, unsuspecting government workers were tricked into inputting their login details, which the fraudsters then used to access and divert funds.

According to the documents, one of the biggest hits by the group occurred in August 2022, when they rerouted $965,000 from the city of Kentucky into a fraudulent account at PNC Bank. In another instance, $330,000 was transferred into a Bank of America account.

All suspects except Egemasi are reported to be Ghanaian nationals. Authorities believe that Egemasi met Osei and his co-conspirators in Nigeria before the syndicate expanded its operations between West Africa and the United States.

The FBI’s investigation retrieved evidence, including text messages, bank records, and digital footprints linking the suspects to multiple fraudulent transactions.

The accused individuals are currently being held in Lexington, Kentucky, where they are expected to face trial. If found guilty, they each face up to 20 years in prison, substantial financial penalties, and eventual deportation to their respective home countries after serving their sentences.

This case has sparked discussions about the increasing collaboration between tech-savvy individuals in West Africa and international crime rings, as well as concerns over cybersecurity weaknesses in public sector institutions in the U.S.

So far, U.S. authorities have not released an official public statement, but sources suggest the FBI may soon brief the press on the scale of the fraud and the possibility of more arrests.