Law & Justice
Digital Communications Expose Alleged $960,000 Citizenship Bribery Scheme by Former USCIS Official
A former senior official with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and an alleged financial accomplice have been charged in connection with a bribery scheme that netted nearly $960,000 by manipulating immigration applications, according to federal prosecutors.
Lukman Owolabi Ganiyu, the former USCIS official, and Adeniyi Akeem Somoye were arrested on federal charges of conspiracy to receive illegal gratuities by a public official, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Texas said, according to a Fox News report.
Prosecutors allege the scheme ran from December 2019 through March 2026, with applicants paying money in exchange for special treatment on their immigration cases, including citizenship applications.
Investigators say thousands of WhatsApp messages and hundreds of phone calls between the two men and applicants were central to uncovering the alleged scheme. The communications reportedly showed repeated contact tied to a system in which applicants paid to have their cases pushed through the immigration process.
According to the allegations, Ganiyu used his USCIS position to bypass standard procedures for applicants who paid bribes, with some applications advancing without criminal background checks, interviews or other required reviews. Prosecutors say he altered information in the USCIS system to expedite cases and moved applications away from USCIS field offices in Minneapolis, Charlotte and Houston so he could approve them directly, circumventing local supervisors.
The complaint also alleges that Ganiyu fast-tracked Somoye's own citizenship application, later approving residency applications for Somoye's wife and child.
Court documents cited in the report indicate Ganiyu received roughly $671,438 from applicants via Zelle and Cash App, along with an additional $287,830 in cash deposits that prosecutors say were structured to conceal the money's origin.
Somoye is accused of serving as a financial intermediary, handling about $1.7 million in transfers involving applicants through bank accounts, Zelle and Cash App, while allegedly retaining a portion of the funds. He is also accused of depositing $449,010 in cash.
Prosecutors say the two men frequently exchanged money with applicants and that most of the citizenship cases they handled involved individuals from African countries.
Ganiyu resigned from USCIS in March, citing personal reasons, and was arrested several months later, according to the report.