A former senior official with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and an accomplice have been arrested on federal charges for their alleged roles in a multi-year scheme to accept approximately $960,000 in exchange for facilitating immigration benefit applications.

Lukman Owolabi Ganiyu, the former USCIS official, and Adeniyi Akeem Somoye, identified as his financial accomplice, were charged with conspiracy to receive illegal gratuities by a public official. According to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Texas, the pair allegedly bypassed standard procedures, including criminal background checks and interviews, to expedite applications for applicants who paid bribes directly to Ganiyu.

Prosecutors allege that between December 2019 and March 2023, Ganiyu manipulated the USCIS system to fast-track applications in return for payment. Evidence presented includes extensive WhatsApp messages, thousands of messages, and hundreds of calls between Ganiyu, Somoye, and numerous applicants.

Ganiyu reportedly received about $671,438 through Zelle and Cash App, along with $287,830 in cash deposits intended to conceal the funds' origin. Somoye, acting as a financial intermediary, allegedly processed approximately $1.7 million in transfers involving applicants and deposited $449,010 in cash. He is accused of keeping a portion of these payments.

The complaint states that many of the citizenship applications handled by the pair involved applicants from African countries. Ganiyu allegedly fast-tracked citizenship for Somoye before approving residency applications for Somoye’s wife and child. He also is accused of rerouting applications from USCIS field offices in Minneapolis, Charlotte, and Houston to bypass local supervisors, allowing him to approve them himself.

Ganiyu resigned from USCIS in March, citing personal reasons, several months before his arrest. U.S. Attorney Ryan Raybould stated, "Selling immigration benefits for cash is a blatant abuse of public trust. When a federal official puts a price tag on lawful status, we will intervene immediately."

Each defendant faces a potential sentence of up to five years in federal prison and a fine of up to $250,000.