NEW YORK, USA — Nigerian tech enthusiast Sapphire Egemasi is facing the possibility of more than 20 years in federal prison in the United States after being arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for her alleged role in a multimillion-dollar fraud scheme targeting U.S. government agencies.
Egemasi, a self-styled programmer widely known online as the “tech queen,” was arrested around Thursday, April 10, 2025, in the Bronx, New York, alongside other members of the alleged syndicate, including Ghanaian national Samuel Kwadwo Osei, who is believed to have led the operation.
According to court documents, the arrests follow a federal grand jury indictment filed in 2024 that charges the group with multiple counts of internet fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering.
The offences reportedly took place between September 2021 and February 2023, with victims including several government entities in Kentucky.
Investigators allege that Egemasi played a central role in the conspiracy by designing spoof websites that impersonated official U.S. government domains.
These fraudulent sites were then used to harvest login credentials and facilitate the transfer of funds into accounts controlled by the syndicate.
Text message records cited by federal prosecutors show that in August 2022, the group successfully diverted $965,000 from a Kentucky government account into a PNC Bank account.
In a separate transaction, $330,000 was funnelled into an account at Bank of America.
Egemasi, who was reportedly based in Cambridge, United Kingdom, before her arrest, is believed to have maintained previous residence in Ghana, where she likely established ties with her co-conspirators.
Prosecutors describe her as the syndicate’s “tech lead,” overseeing key aspects of the scheme’s digital operations, including the management of illicit wire transfers.
To conceal the origins of her wealth, Egemasi allegedly claimed on professional platforms such as LinkedIn that she had interned at major global companies including British Petroleum, H&M, and Zara.
Her social media profiles showcased images of luxury vacations in Greece and Portugal, trips authorities say were funded through proceeds from the fraud.
Both Egemasi and her co-defendants are being held in federal custody and await trial in Lexington, Kentucky.
If convicted, each defendant could face up to 20 years in prison, substantial fines, and deportation upon completion of their sentences.
Federal prosecutors have not ruled out the possibility of further charges or additional arrests as investigations into the wider network continue.
