The United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has arrested a previously convicted Nigerian, Rotimi Oladimeji, in a nationwide operation targeting illegal immigrants.
In a statement posted on its official X handle on Monday, ICE disclosed that Oladimeji, who had a record of mail and wire fraud, was ordered to pay over $1.1 million in restitution before his arrest.
The statement read: “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.”
Oladimeji was earlier sentenced to three years’ imprisonment by a US District Court in December 2023 for aiding other scammers in Nigeria to defraud a woman who believed she was in an online relationship with a veterinarian and animal behaviourist in St. Louis.
According to the US Department of Justice, Oladimeji conspired with accomplices between 2019 and 2020, tricking the victim into transferring money under false pretenses. In total, the woman lost nearly $1.17 million. Court records showed that Oladimeji pocketed 20% of the proceeds, while other intermediaries shared another 20%, before the balance was sent to scammers in Nigeria.
After pleading guilty in 2022, Oladimeji was sentenced to prison and ordered to pay restitution. He was also placed on deportation but reportedly remained in the United States after serving his sentence.
His latest arrest comes as part of ICE’s ongoing clampdown on illegal and criminal migrants—a policy that has led to thousands of arrests in recent years.
