US Moves To Revoke Citizenship of 25 Naturalised Criminals As Ghanaians and Nigerians Emerge on List
- The US Department of Justice filed 25 denaturalisation complaints since July 20, 2026, marking the greatest such coordinated effort in the department's history
- Acting Attorney General said the individuals obtained citizenship through fraud, concealment of violent crimes and false identities
- Two Ghanaian nationals, Esther Quayle and Eddie Jones Appah, are among those targeted in separate federal court filings
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The United States Department of Justice has launched the largest coordinated denaturalisation effort in its history, filing 25 complaints since July 20, 2026, against individuals accused of obtaining American citizenship through fraud and concealment of serious criminal conduct.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche announced the filings on August 3, 2026, identifying the cases as part of a continuing campaign to protect the integrity of the naturalisation process. Two Ghanaian nationals are among those named in the complaints.
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DOJ's record-breaking denaturalisation push
The complaints announced today allege that these individuals secured naturalisation through fraud, concealment, or other unlawful conduct, including by concealing violent crimes, sexual offences against children, fraudulent identities, and other disqualifying facts."
He added that the filings represent only the beginning of the department's efforts and that the DOJ would continue to deploy every available legal tool to safeguard both the naturalisation process and public safety.
Two Ghanaians named in federal filings
Esther Quayle, 50, a Ghanaian national, is the subject of a complaint filed on July 29 in the Middle District of Tennessee.
According to the DOJ, Quayle obtained her green card through her spouse, who had assumed the stolen identity of a United States citizen.
The department alleges she failed to disclose her husband's true identity and citizenship status during her naturalisation proceedings, making her ineligible for citizenship since she was never lawfully admitted to permanent residence.
The DOJ further contends that her misrepresentations constituted wilful concealment of material facts and demonstrated a lack of the good moral character required for naturalisation.
Eddie Jones Appah, aged 66 or 67, also from Ghana, faces a separate complaint filed on July 30 in the District of New Jersey.
Prosecutors allege that Appah concealed the fact that he had previously entered the United States under a different identity and had been deported under that prior identity. He is charged with illegal procurement of naturalisation through false testimony and the misrepresentation of material facts during his citizenship proceedings.
Nigerian nationals also targeted
Among the broader list, four Nigerian nationals are also named. Jonathan Omorogieva Obasohan, 56, is accused of naturalising under a false identity while a deportation order under his real name remained active.
Yetunde Folake Olaniyi, also 56, allegedly entered a sham marriage using a stolen identity after being ordered removed from the US and was later convicted of passport fraud in 2014.
Vivian Chike Obichere, 72, who naturalised in 2013, subsequently pleaded guilty to false application and use of a passport, admitting she had concealed during the naturalisation proceedings that she had applied for and used a passport bearing another person's identity.
The 25 complaints filed across the country reflect a broad push by the Trump administration to revisit naturalisations the department considers to have been unlawfully obtained. Blanche indicated the effort would intensify, describing the current round of filings as a foundation rather than a conclusion.
Below is the Facebook post of the United States Department of Justice.
FBI sets up office in Accra
In a related development, YEN.com.gh reported that the US government has established an FBI Legal Attaché Office in Accra.
The move forms part of a coordinated effort to dismantle international fraud syndicates and romance scam networks that have cost American citizens millions of dollars.
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Source: YEN.com.gh
