Nigerian technology enthusiast, Sapphire Egemasi, faces a potential prison sentence exceeding 20 years after being arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for allegedly defrauding several United States government agencies of millions of dollars
Egemasi, a programmer known for her Devpost account, was taken into custody around 10 April 2025, in the Bronx, New York.
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She was apprehended alongside other co-conspirators, including Samuel Kwadwo Osei, who is believed to have led the syndicate.
Their arrests followed a federal grand jury indictment last year on internet fraud and money laundering charges, with officials alleging the offenses occurred between September 2021 and February 2023.
According to court documents sighted, the Nigerian national and her co-defendants, who are Ghanaian, are accused of conspiring to defraud the city of Kentucky of millions of dollars.
Egemasi’s alleged role involved registering and designing “spoof websites” that mimicked official U.S. government institutions to steal login credentials.
Officials noted that Egemasi had lived in Cambridge, United Kingdom, until her arrest.
It is suspected she met her Ghanaian co-conspirators years ago while living in the West African nation, subsequently becoming the tech expert for the fraud syndicate, which reportedly operated in both the United States and Nigeria.
She was also responsible for helping the group redirect stolen funds to accounts they controlled via wire transfers.
Retrieved text messages confirm that the group once rerouted $965,000 in stolen funds from the city of Kentucky to a PNC Bank account in August 2022.
During the same period, an additional $330,000, also stolen from the city, was diverted into an account at Bank of America.
To conceal the true source of her wealth, Egemasi reportedly claimed to have held several positions, primarily internships, at multinational companies such as British Petroleum, H&M, and Zara.
Known among her social media followers, particularly on LinkedIn, as a ‘tech queen’, Egemasi regularly flaunted an expensive lifestyle online, which is now alleged to have been funded by her illicit gains.
In recent years, she posted pictures of leisurely trips to various countries, including Greece, Portugal, and other prime tourist destinations.
Currently, Egemasi and her co-conspirators are in federal custody, awaiting trial in Lexington, Kentucky.
If found guilty, each defendant faces up to 20 years’ imprisonment, substantial financial fines, and potential deportation to their respective countries upon completion of their sentences.
