Six Nigerian nationals accused of targeting more than 100 women in the U.S. through romance scams will be extradited to the United States, South African police said Friday.
The men are alleged to be members of the “Black Axe” criminal network and are accused of cheating the women out of more than $6 million, South Africa’s Hawks unit said in a statement.
The alleged victims include retirees and businesspeople who were targeted through sophisticated online relationships, police said. The six men were arrested in South Africa in 2021 and will be handed to FBI and Secret Service officials in Cape Town on Friday, the agency added.
The FBI, Secret Service and Justice Department did not immediately reply to an overnight request for comment about the extradition.
In December 2024 the U.S. attorney’s office for New Jersey charged Enorense Izevbigie, a leader of the Black Axe organization, and six co-defendants with fraud and money laundering spanning from 2011 to 2021.
The charges related to romance schemes using social media and online dating sites, in which the men were accused of convincing the women they were in romantic relationships and requesting they send money and valuable items.
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