TWO NIGERIANS, GANIYU, SOMOYE ARRESTED OVER SCHEME TO SELL GREEN CARDS, CITIZENSHIP FOR CASH

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Two Nigerian men, Lukman Owolabi Ganiyu, who previously worked as a senior officer with the U.S.Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), and Adeniyi Akeem Somoye, were arrested in the United States.They are accused of being part of a scheme where they allegedly accepted illegal payments in exchange for helping to manipulate and speed up immigration applications.The arrests were announced by Ryan Raybould, the U.S.Attorney for the Northern District of Texas, who stated that the two men were involved in a multi–year plan to take illegal bribes 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.

“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.

Investigators reportedly uncovered extensive WhatsApp communications between Ganiyu, Somoye and numerous applicants whose immigration cases they handled.

The communications allegedly included thousands of messages and hundreds of telephone calls exchanged during the period covered by the investigation.

R. Joseph Rothrock, FBI Dallas Special Agent in Charge, said the alleged conduct undermined the integrity of the US immigration system.