An allegedly corrupt senior immigration official and his sleazy moneyman are accused of manipulating the US immigration course of and approving citizenship purposes for practically $960,000 in bribes, authorities mentioned on Friday.
Investigators found the reported racket by means of WhatsApp messages between former senior United States Citizenship and Immigration Companies officer Lukman Owolabi Ganiyu, his monetary confederate Adeniyi Akeem Somoye, and particular person citizenship candidates.
The pair, situated in Texas, bypassed customary procedures by funneling bribe-paying candidates on to Ganiyu — skipping key steps within the immigration course of like felony background checks, in accordance with the US Lawyer’s Workplace for the Northern District of Texas.
Ganiyu rigged the USCIS system to grab management of purposes, fast-tracking them for a payout, prosecutors mentioned.
The senior official allegedly fast-tracked citizenship for his alleged associate in crime, Somoye, then green-lit residency for Somoye’s spouse and baby.
Ganiyu hijacked the system to grab recordsdata from discipline places of work in Minneapolis, Charlotte, and Houston — avoiding native supervisors to rubber-stamp the purposes himself, in accordance with the US lawyer’s workplace.
Between December 2019 and March 2026, Ganiyu pocketed roughly $671,438 through Zelle and Money App — plus $287,830 in money deposits designed to cover the cash’s supply — from citizenship candidates, in accordance with court docket paperwork obtained by The Publish.
Appearing as cash supervisor, Somoye collected roughly $1.7 million in switch quantity, which is partially attributed to candidates through financial institution transfers, Zelle, and Money App, skimming a portion of the candidates’ bribes as fee. He additionally deposited $449,010 in money, in accordance with the paperwork.
The illicit windfall dwarfs their meager reported incomes: Ganiyu pulled in a $67,732 annual authorities paycheck, whereas his moneyman Somoye claimed a measly $7,506 in reputable yearly wages.
Because the investigation mounted, Ganiyu was not instantly fired.
As an alternative, he quietly resigned from USCIS “attributable to private causes” in March 2026, simply months earlier than federal authorities moved in to arrest him.
The grievance notes that Ganiyu and Somoye incessantly exchanged cash “forwards and backwards” with candidates, authorities allege.
This speedy churning of funds on digital apps inflated the whole quantity of cash processed, resulting in the $1.7 million determine.
Many of the citizenship purposes they handled got here from African nations, in accordance with prosecutors.
“Promoting immigration advantages for money is a blatant abuse of public belief,” mentioned US Lawyer for the Northern District of Texas Ryan Raybould in an announcement on Friday.
“When a federal official places a price ticket on lawful standing, we’ll intervene instantly.”
Ganiyu and Somoye are charged with conspiracy to obtain unlawful gratuities by a public official.
Their preliminary court docket appearances have been held on Sept. 2. They every withstand 5 years in federal jail and a advantageous of as much as $250,000.
USCIS Workplace of Investigations, DHS Workplace of Inspector Basic and the FBI Dallas Area Workplace investigated the case.
Assistant US Lawyer Chad Meacham from the Fraud part is prosecuting the case.
