Lukman Owolabi Ganiyu, a former senior USCIS officer, and associate Adeniyi Akeem Somoye were indicted Wednesday; federal agents arrested them Sept. 2. Prosecutors allege the pair collected hundreds of thousands of dollars, many payments tied to immigration approvals Ganiyu made.
Prosecutors say Ganiyu used his position from December 2019 through March 2026 to approve family petitions, green-card applications, petitions to remove conditions on residence and naturalization applications in exchange for money. They allege he bypassed required interviews, supervisory reviews, jurisdictional limits, background checks and USCIS processing protocols. The case involved thousands of WhatsApp messages and calls between the defendants and applicants.
An Aug. 31 criminal complaint charged the pair with conspiracy to receive illegal gratuities as public officials. DOJ did not say how many applications may have been affected or whether approved applications are being reviewed.
