Nigerian duo, Lukman Owolabi Ganiyu, a former senior immigration services officer with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), and Adeniyi Akeem Somoye, have been arrested in the United States over an alleged scheme to receive illegal payments in exchange for manipulating and expediting immigration applications.
United States Attorney for the Northern District of Texas, Ryan Raybould, announced the arrests, saying the two men were allegedly involved in a multi-year scheme to receive illegal gratuities from immigration applicants.
A federal criminal complaint filed on August 31 charged Ganiyu and Somoye with conspiracy to receive illegal gratuities by a public official.
Federal agents arrested both men on September 2.
Ganiyu and Somoye made their initial court appearances on September 2 before a U.S. Magistrate Judge.
Each defendant faces a maximum sentence of five years in federal prison and a fine of up to $250,000 if convicted.
“Selling immigration benefits for cash is a blatant abuse of public trust,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan Raybould.
“When a federal official puts a price tag on lawful status, we will intervene immediately. Public corruption will never be tolerated in the Northern District of Texas.”
According to the complaint, Ganiyu allegedly exploited his official position between December 2019 and March 2026 to approve various immigration applications in exchange for money.
The applications included Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative; Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status; Form I-751, Petition to Remove Conditions on Residence; and Form N-400, Application for Naturalization.
Investigators alleged that Ganiyu bypassed several mandatory immigration procedures to unlawfully expedite applications.
These allegedly included required interviews, supervisory reviews, jurisdictional restrictions, background checks and other standard USCIS processing protocols.
The complaint further alleged that some of the applicants whose cases were expedited were not eligible for the immigration benefits they received under federal law.
Ganiyu and Somoye are also accused of collecting hundreds of thousands of dollars from applicants, with investigators identifying several payments that allegedly corresponded directly with immigration approvals issued by Ganiyu.
R. Joseph Rothrock, FBI Dallas Special Agent in Charge, said the alleged conduct undermined the integrity of the US immigration system.
“The FBI and our law enforcement partners remain committed to holding accountable anyone who abuses their position of trust.”