Nigerian Socialite Putsammy Extradited to US for Alleged Romance Scam and Wire Fraud
- Nigerian socialite Samuel Ugberease, alias Putsammy, was extradited to the United States on May 14, 2026, to face charges of romance scamming and wire fraud
- The Nigerian Police disclosed that Putsammy and his accomplices ran a criminal syndicate between 2014 and 2018, targeting female victims in North Carolina
- One victim was allegedly defrauded of over $1.5 million, with proceeds laundered through multiple bank accounts to conceal the illicit funds
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A popular Nigerian socialite, Samuel Ugberease, also known as Putsammy, has been extradited to the United States of America for alleged cybercrimes.
Source: Getty Images
According to a statement from the Nigerian Police, Putsammy, who is based in South Africa, was extradited on May 14, 2026, following a legal process at the Federal High Court, Lagos Judicial Division.
He was originally arrested at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos, on December 14, 2025, after returning to Nigeria from South Africa.
He faces charges related to romance scamming and wire fraud.
“The Nigeria Police Force, through the INTERPOL National Central Bureau (NCB) Abuja, has successfully extradited one Samuel Ugberease, also known as “Putsammy”, “Putput”, and “Sammy”, to the United States of America to face charges bordering on online romance scam, wire fraud, and related financial crimes,” a statement from the Nigerian Police said.
“Investigations revealed that between 2014 and 2018, the suspect and his accomplices operated a criminal syndicate involved in online romance scams targeting female victims in the United States, particularly within the Eastern District of North Carolina.”
Putsammy and his accomplices allegedly established fake profiles, which they used to establish romantic relationships with victims, and convinced them to send them varying sums of money.
“Further investigations established that proceeds of the fraud were laundered through multiple bank accounts used to receive, process, and conceal illicit funds. In one of the reported cases, the suspect was linked to the defrauding of a victim of over One Million Five Hundred Thousand United States Dollars ($1.5 million USD),” the statement added.
Below is the Twitter post with details of Putsammy's arrest.
Putsammy becomes the latest popular African socialite to face criminal charges related to romance fraud, following the cases of Abu Trica and twins Arrangement and Lancaster in recent months.
Below is a YouTube video with details of Abu Trica's predicament.
Reactions to Putsammy's extradition
YEN.com.gh compiled some comments reacting to the report of Putsammy's arrest and extradition to the United States.
Many Nigerians expressed outrage over Putsammy's extradition, pointing out that US citizens who commit crimes are never extradited to other countries.
Abubakar Onimisi Sadiq said:
"Wait ooo, is Sammy not a Nigerian? Why extradited to the US if na us own dem no go agree."
Abubakar Onimisi Sadiq wrote:
"Why can't he be tried and sentenced here in Nigeria, because that is what the US does, has the US ever extradited someone who stole millions of naira and was caught in their country back to Nigeria for further investigation?
Roland Nnamdi Gabriel commented:
"Once there is an accusation from abroad, you guys just hand over Nigerians proudly. Is it the same way that they hand over their people?"
Source: TikTok
Arrangement and Lancaster face US charges
Previously, YEN.com.gh reported that Ghanaian twin socialites Arrangement and Lancater were extradited to the United States to face romance fraud charges.
According to reports, their charges include conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering alongside their alleged US-based accomplices.
Source: YEN.com.gh
