Fugitive Adetunji Abudu Arrested at Boston Logan Airport After 7 Years on the Run in Multimillion-Dollar Fraud Laundering Case Targeting Elderly Americans
Adetunji Abudu, 34, of Lagos, Nigeria, was arrested on a Monday night at Logan Airport in Boston, Massachusetts, as he attempted to re-enter the United States from Istanbul, Turkey, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Rhode Island announced on October 26. Abudu appeared on October 21, 2026, in U.S. District Court in Rhode Island and was ordered detained pending trial.
Abudu is one of six defendants charged in a superseding indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Providence, alleging that the individuals laundered millions of dollars obtained through a series of fraud schemes operated from Nigeria that primarily targeted elderly U.S. residents. According to the indictment, victims were allegedly deceived through online romance scams, fraudulent sweepstakes schemes, false rental listings, and sham online shipping transactions.
Funds collected from victims were allegedly funneled through bank accounts and businesses in Rhode Island, Idaho, and elsewhere, with significant proceeds ultimately sent to Nigeria. Members of the conspiracy also allegedly purchased vehicles with illicit proceeds that were shipped overseas.
The Justice Department said Abudu fled the United States to Nigeria in 2019 after the FBI executed a court-authorized search of his residence in North Providence, Rhode Island. Five of his co-defendants, Dotun Olawale Alonge, Oluwaseyi Akintol, Samson Ikotun, Olabode Shaba, and Oladipup Shodipu, subsequently pleaded guilty to money laundering conspiracy and received sentences ranging from time served to 42 months imprisonment.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney John P. McAdams. The matter was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), with assistance from the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the Tallmadge (Ohio) and Moscow (Idaho) Police Departments. A federal indictment is merely an accusation, and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：Boston 的 Logan 国际机场跑道，一架联合航空波音737正待起飞、一架捷蓝航空客机正降落（资料图）。Fletcher 摄，CC BY，经 Wikimedia Commons。Photo: Boston Logan International Airport, with a United Boeing 737 awaiting departure and a JetBlue aircraft landing (file photo). By Fletcher, CC BY, via Wikimedia Commons.
