Kingsley Sebastian Ibhadore, a 40-year-old resident of Glendale, Arizona, was sentenced to 17 months in prison by United States District Judge John J. Tuchi on May 5, 2025. Ibhadore, who is a Nigerian citizen and lawful U.S. resident, had previously pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit structuring. His actions involved withdrawing over $500,000 in criminal proceeds from bank accounts in amounts below federal reporting thresholds to avoid detection.
Ibhadore acted as a "money mule" within a larger criminal operation that transferred fraud proceeds between fictitious bank accounts. He used 24 different bank accounts under various aliases to hide and distribute funds obtained through online romance scams initiated by others. Romance scams involve criminals impersonating individuals online to gain victims' trust and affection with the intent of stealing money. These scams often involve creating fake profiles and manipulating victims into sending money for fabricated reasons such as medical emergencies or travel expenses.
Between July 2019 and March 2020, Ibhadore deposited proceeds from these scams into accounts opened with false identities and withdrew sums designed to avoid financial institutions' currency reporting requirements. Despite knowing the source of the funds was fraudulent, he continued his activities using fraudulent identities at major banks across Arizona.
The investigation was conducted by the United States Secret Service. The prosecution was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kristen Brook and Raymond Woo from the District of Arizona in Phoenix.