USCIS Bribery Scheme

Lukman Owolabi Ganiyu, a former U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services senior officer, and Adeniyi Akeem Somoye, an alleged financial intermediary, have been charged in a bribery case involving nearly $960,000 in immigration payments. The defendants face up to five years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine if convicted.

The case, announced by the Justice Department on September 5, 2026, alleges that Ganiyu used his government position to steer applicants around ordinary case procedures, while Somoye helped move and collect money. According to Ryan Raybould, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas, the alleged conduct is a breach of the public's trust, with Raybould stating that "Selling immigration benefits for cash is a blatant abuse of public trust."

Background of the Allegations

The alleged operation ran from December 2019 through March 2026, with prosecutors saying that Ganiyu bypassed criminal background checks, interviews, and other standard processing steps in exchange for payments. Investigators identified communications through WhatsApp messages and found that Ganiyu pulled files from USCIS field offices in Minneapolis, Charlotte, and Houston, then bypassed local supervisors while handling them.

Ganiyu received roughly $671,438 through Zelle and Cash App, and $287,830 in cash deposits. The alleged payments covered immigration favors, including citizenship cases and other immigration benefits. Somoye allegedly served as the financial intermediary, processing about $1.7 million in transfers involving applicants and depositing $449,010 in cash.

The Alleged Money Trail

The two figures describe different parts of the alleged financial activity, with prosecutors saying that the scheme's identified bribe payments totaled nearly $960,000, while the broader transfer volume attributed to Somoye reached about $1.7 million. Most of the citizenship applications reportedly involved applicants from African countries, and the allegations also include fast-tracked residency benefits for Somoye's wife and child.

The prosecution's description places the alleged intermediary role alongside the alleged official misconduct. Ganiyu is accused of altering or bypassing agency handling, while Somoye allegedly arranged payments and relayed applicants into the process. The case describes a system in which applicants allegedly sought favorable treatment instead of ordinary adjudication.

Potential Immigration Consequences

The allegations do not establish that every applicant connected to the cases participated in wrongdoing. Immigration consequences could depend on the facts of an individual filing, including whether an applicant knew about payments, made false statements, or received a benefit through improper handling. The potential effect reaches beyond naturalization, with the allegations including citizenship applications and residency benefits.

Next Steps in the Investigation

The alleged movement of files across Minneapolis, Charlotte, and Houston gives investigators multiple field-office records to examine. WhatsApp communications, digital payment records, and cash deposits also form part of the alleged trail described in the case. That combination could bring scrutiny to applications that appeared to move unusually quickly or bypassed local review. Cases may be examined for irregular routing, missing screening steps, or statements connected to the alleged payments.

The charges remain allegations, and the case now proceeds through federal court, where prosecutors must prove the accusations beyond a reasonable doubt. The alleged conduct, according to the charging theory, continued through March 2026, only months before the defendants' September court appearances.