Nigerian ‘Tech Queen’ and Ghanaian accomplices arrested for multi-million dollar internet fraud

Popular Nigerian tech personality Sapphire Egemasi, widely known online as a “tech queen,” is facing serious jail time in the U.S. after being arrested by the FBI for her role in a high-level fraud syndicate.

Egemasi, who was based in Cambridge, UK before her arrest, was picked up in April 2025 in the Bronx, New York, alongside Ghanaian accomplice Samuel Kwadwo Osei, believed to be the ringleader of the group. Together, they face over 20 years behind bars for allegedly defrauding U.S. government agencies of millions of dollars.

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Court documents reveal that between September 2021 and February 2023, the syndicate ran a sophisticated operation targeting government institutions. Egemasi’s main role was to build spoof websites to collect login credentials from unsuspecting officials. These credentials were later used to reroute huge sums of money to accounts controlled by the group. In one instance, nearly \$1 million was diverted from the city of Kentucky into private accounts at PNC Bank and Bank of America.

Investigators say Sapphire met her Ghanaian co-conspirators during a stay in Ghana years ago, and eventually became the tech brains behind the operation. She also reportedly helped launder the stolen funds through multiple wire transfers. To cover her tracks, she falsely claimed to have interned at top multinational companies like British Petroleum, H&M, and Zara.

Known on LinkedIn for her flashy lifestyle and global travel, Sapphire often posted content from trips to Portugal, Greece, and other destinations—luxuries now believed to have been funded by her fraudulent activities. She and her associates are currently in custody in Lexington, Kentucky, awaiting trial. If convicted, they face hefty prison sentences, fines, and deportation once their time is served.