Celebrated Nigerian billionaire, Classic Baggie, indicted for fraud in US

A self-styled entrepreneur, Ehonre Oluwaseun, popularly known as Classic Baggie, has been indicted for cyber fraud in the United States.

He was indicted last year by a US district court in Delaware, in a case involving his US-based partner, Olugbenga Lawal, who has been sentenced to 10 years and one month in prison for money laundering involving the proceeds of internet fraud schemes.

Mr Lawal was also ordered to pay $1.4 million ($1,460,875) in restitution to victims of the fraud schemes.

The schemes were orchestrated by an international criminal organisation known as the Miami Crew, led by Classic Baggie, who was residing in Lagos and celebrated as a philanthropist in Nigeria at the time. 

However, while Mr Lawal’s sentencing got widespread media coverage, Mr Oluwaseun’s indictment did not get any attention. PREMIUM TIMES has now obtained court documents that confirmed Mr Oluwaseun’s role in the scams.

Between 2019 to 2020, Mr Lawal and other crew members were accused of stealing millions of dollars and laundering millions of dollars in proceeds.

According to the court documents recently obtained by PREMIUM TIMES, the crew led by Classic Baggie was involved in Business Email Compromise (BEC) or romance fraud.

Business Email Compromise (BEC) fraud is a type of cybercrime where attackers use spoofed or hacked email accounts to trick employees into transferring money or sensitive information to fraudulent accounts.

The court also identified other crew members as Rita Assane and Dwight Baines, both US citizens based in Florida, and Michael Hermann, an Ivory Coast citizen based in Florida.

Together with Mr Lawal, the US-based Miami crew members were spoofing multiple business emails, fraudulently redirecting funds to their bank accounts, and stealing from individuals through an online romance scam.

Proceeds from their fraudulent activities were sent to Mr Lawal, who also acted as a “money mule” by “illegally transferring the money” to Mr Oluwaseun in Nigeria.

“The Miami Crew would send Lawal illicit proceeds from these fraud schemes at the instruction of Classic Baggie, who referred to Mr Lawal as his partner in the romance fraud thing.

“Fraud victims sometimes directly sent money to Lawal, and the evidence reflected that Lawal had direct knowledge of these deposits.

“After receipt, Lawal would help repatriate the money back to Nigeria through currency transactions and by purchasing cars in the United States and shipping the cars to Nigeria,” the court document read.

Celebrated in Nigeria

Meanwhile, in Nigeria, Mr Oluwaseun was regarded as a serial entrepreneur with investments in real estate, entertainment and car dealerships. 

Multiple news platforms have reported  Classic Baggie to be known for his philanthropic nature and “his consistent willingness to give back to society.”

“He is a serial entrepreneur and is often regarded as one of the youngest business entrepreneurs in Nigeria,” this report about him reads.

His purported businesses are all classified under his “Baggie Groups conglomerate.”

He is also considered a socialite and friends with Ramon Abbas, Hushpuppi, who was sentenced to 11 years in US federal prison in 2022 for international money laundering schemes.

Hushpuppi was a prolific international fraudster who conspired to launder tens of millions of dollars through a series of online scams and flaunted his luxurious, crime-funded lifestyle on social media.

While Mr Lawal received a jail term, Classic Baggie has since gone into the shadows. His Instagram social media account, @classicbaggie, is currently inactive.

There are also no recent traces of him in the news or social media under the alias “classic baggie,” except for an Instagram account, “Baggieexchangegroup,” which was once associated with him but now posts videos of random houses and cars. The page currently has more than 38,000 followers. 

According to the US court document, members of Classic Baggie’s criminal network are “charged in the Indictment with laundering proceeds of Internet fraud schemes, to include business email compromise (BEC) and Romance fraud Scheme.”

How BEC scam is initiated

The court document also stated that the Miami crew used accounts held by shell entities to effect the involved transactions.

Classic Baggie’s Partner, Mr Lawal, had primarily used bank accounts held by himself and a shell company he registered called Luxe Logistics LLC.

Other members of the Miami Crew had similar accounts. Rita Assane operated through KLAM Entertainment LLC, Dwight Baines through Baines Properties LLC, and Michael Herman through Topslope Ventures LLC.

These accounts were used to carry out BEC fraud on companies. One of the victims identified in the document as “Company A” lost $459,264 to the scam in 2020.

Another company, identified as “Company B,” was defrauded of $100,879 in the same year.

According to the document obtained by PREMIUM TIMES, the crew had hacked into the company’s email and sent messages to customers who were about to make payments for certain services.

Posing as the companies, the group directed them to make payments to a different account, stating that it had changed its payment policy due to COVID-19.

In many cases, deposits were sent directly to Mr Lawal. When other crew members received the proceeds, they, on Classic Baggie’s instructions, transferred it to him.

After Mr Lawal was found guilty, he filed a motion for judgment of acquittal on the grounds “there was neither sufficient evidence that he knew the illicit nature of the proceeds, nor that he joined the conspiracy knowing of its illegal purpose.”

However, the court denied the motion, stating there was enough evidence to convince it that Mr Lawal had conspired with Classic Baggie and the others to execute the criminal activities.

No update after indictment

While Mr Lawal has been sentenced to prison, Classic Baggie has not yet been prosecuted or formally charged in court since his indictment.

This is likely to be because, Classic Baggie, unlike Mr Lawal, is based in Lagos State.

Prosecutors often face jurisdictional and enforcement hurdles when pursuing cross-border fraud cases.

When the perpetrators reside abroad, as in the case of Classic Baggie, the legal process is more complex because the government cannot simply order the arrest of scammers in foreign countries.

But it can still press charges and pursue serious criminal penalties. In some instances, if the accused travels to a country with an extradition treaty with the United States, they can be arrested and brought to the US court.

A suspect can be placed on international watchlists, including Interpol red notices. These processes require extensive international cooperation and can take months or even years to result in prosecution.

Prosecutors may also issue indictments in absentia, as in the case of Classic Baggie. However, trials or sentencing in absentia are not permitted.

The Sixth Amendment to the US Constitution requires that the accused be present at their trial.

The Sixth Amendment dictates that “In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right… to be confronted with the witnesses against him.”

When PREMIUM TIMES requested an update on his case, the US Attorney’s Office for the District of Delaware stated that it had “no details to share” at this time.

Extradition to the US

A common approach in cross-border fraud cases is the extradition of suspects from countries that have an extradition treaty with the United States. One such case occurred in Ghana in December 2024, when a 37-year-old Nigerian identified as Abiola Kayode was arrested by the Ghanaian authorities and, upon the request of the US government, extradited to Nebraska. 

Nigeria also has an extradition treaty with the United States, originally signed by the colonial government in 1931. This treaty has since been used to extradite several individuals to the US for drug trafficking, fraud, terrorism, and other related crimes.

In 2023, two Nigerians, Samuel Ogoshi and Samson Ogoshi, were extradited to the US from Nigeria after they were indicted for sexually extorting numerous teenage boys in Michigan. 

Another case was reported in 2019 involving a 56-year-old Adedeji Adeniran, who was extradited to the Northern District of Florida.

One notable high-profile extradition from Nigeria to the US involved Fatade Olamilekan, who was extradited in July 2022 to face charges related to a $3.5 million fraud scheme. Mr Olamilekan had been on the FBI’s wanted list for allegedly stealing over $3.5 million worth of equipment and had his extradition coordinated by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). 

However, extradition from Nigeria is often slow and can be politically sensitive.

Also, in cases where extradition is denied or not pursued, the suspect may evade trial in the US, but can still face travel restrictions or other international legal consequences.