Togolese man with ties to Ghana pleads guilty in $5.7m U.S. fraud scheme

A Togolese national and lawful permanent resident of the United States has pleaded guilty to charges of money laundering and aggravated identity theft in connection with a multi-million dollar international fraud scheme.

Gedeon Mawulolo Agbeyome, who also has ties to Ghana, entered the guilty plea on March 20. He was subsequently sentenced to five years in prison and ordered to pay $5.7 million in restitution, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

ICE announced the sentencing on X, detailing that Agbeyome was convicted for conspiracy to commit money laundering and aggravated identity theft. Authorities say he used stolen identities to establish shell businesses and bank accounts, which were used to receive nearly $3 million in fraudulent funds. Among the proceeds was money originating from a U.S. government environmental trust fund, part of a larger international business email compromise scheme.

Agbeyome was arrested by ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Maryland office on a federal warrant. Officials noted that he has an existing final removal order and a lengthy criminal history that includes prior convictions and arrests for aggravated identity theft, prostitution, counterfeit credit card offenses, and commercial bribery.