Thousands of WhatsApp messages, hundreds of telephone calls and a trail of electronic and cash payments have led United States investigators to a former senior immigration official and his alleged financial intermediary in a wide-ranging scheme prosecutors say involved nearly $960,000 in payments for preferential treatment of citizenship and other immigration applications.
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Former U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services official Lukman Owolabi Ganiyu and Adeniyi Akeem Somoye have been charged with conspiracy to receive illegal gratuities by a public official over allegations that applicants paid money to have their immigration cases manipulated, accelerated or approved outside normal USCIS procedures.
According to prosecutors, the alleged scheme operated for more than six years, from December 2019 to March 2026, during which investigators say Ganiyu used his position within USCIS to provide favourable treatment to applicants who made payments.
The investigation reportedly uncovered thousands of WhatsApp messages and hundreds of telephone calls involving Ganiyu, Somoye and individuals whose immigration applications were being processed.
Prosecutors allege that the communications revealed repeated contact between the two men and applicants and formed part of a system through which money was allegedly exchanged for assistance with citizenship and other immigration benefits.
Investigators also traced substantial payments through financial platforms and cash transactions.
Court documents cited in reports allege that Ganiyu received about $671,438 through Zelle and Cash App from citizenship applicants.
He is also alleged to have received another $287,830 in cash deposits, bringing the total prosecutors attribute directly to him to approximately $959,268.
Authorities allege that the cash deposits were used in an effort to conceal the source of some of the money.
Somoye, meanwhile, is accused of acting as a financial intermediary between applicants and Ganiyu.
Prosecutors allege that approximately $1.7 million in transfers involving applicants passed through bank accounts, Zelle and Cash App linked to Somoye, with Somoye allegedly retaining part of the funds.
He is also alleged to have deposited about $449,010 in cash.
The complaint reportedly describes frequent movement of money “back and forth” between Ganiyu, Somoye and applicants whose immigration matters were being processed.
Beyond the financial transactions, prosecutors allege that Ganiyu used his official access to circumvent established immigration procedures for paying applicants.
Some applications were allegedly advanced without required steps including criminal background checks, interviews, standard USCIS processing and other mandatory reviews.
Ganiyu is also accused of altering information contained in USCIS systems to accelerate applications.
Prosecutors further allege that he transferred cases from other USCIS field offices, including Minneapolis, Charlotte and Houston, to positions where he could personally approve them, thereby bypassing officials and supervisors ordinarily responsible for processing those applications.
The allegations also extend to Somoye’s own immigration status.
According to the complaint, Ganiyu allegedly fast-tracked Somoye’s citizenship application and later approved permanent residency applications for Somoye’s wife and child.
Investigators say the digital communications between the men and applicants became an important part of reconstructing the alleged operation, allowing authorities to link immigration cases with financial transactions and contact between those involved.
Prosecutors further alleged that most of the citizenship applications connected to the investigation involved applicants from African countries.
The alleged conduct continued until March 2026, when Ganiyu resigned from USCIS, reportedly citing “personal reasons.”
He was arrested several months after leaving the agency.
The case is being prosecuted in the Northern District of Texas, where federal authorities have charged Ganiyu and Somoye over their alleged roles in the scheme.
The allegations centre not merely on accepting payments, but on claims that official immigration processes were manipulated to give paying applicants advantages that were unavailable through the normal system.
The authorities’ case is expected to rely substantially on the digital and financial evidence gathered during the investigation, including WhatsApp communications, telephone records, electronic payment histories, bank transactions, cash deposits and internal USCIS records.
Neither the charges nor the allegations amount to a finding of guilt. Ganiyu and Somoye are entitled to the presumption of innocence unless and until prosecutors prove the charges against them in court.
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