US prosecutors have accused Lukman Ganiyu, a former official of the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), of allegedly accepting nearly $960,000 in bribes to circumvent immigration procedures and approve citizenship applications.
Investigators reportedly uncovered the alleged scheme through WhatsApp conversations involving Ganiyu, his alleged financial associate, Adeniyi Somoye, and individuals seeking US citizenship.
Ganiyu and Somoye were arrested last week.
According to the US Attorney’s Office, Ganiyu allegedly bypassed mandatory interviews, supervisory checks, jurisdictional restrictions, background investigations and other standard USCIS procedures to fast-track applications for applicants, many of whom were reportedly ineligible under federal law.
Prosecutors said most of the citizenship applications handled by Ganiyu and Somoye involved applicants from African countries.
The alleged scheme reportedly operated between December 2019 and March 2026.
Court documents obtained by the New York Post indicated that Ganiyu received approximately $671,438 through Zelle and Cash App, in addition to $287,830 in cash deposits allegedly intended to conceal the source of payments from citizenship applicants.
Somoye, who allegedly served as the scheme’s money manager, reportedly handled about $1.7 million in transactions. Some of the payments were linked to applicants through bank transfers, Zelle and Cash App.
He allegedly retained part of the bribes as payment and also deposited approximately $449,010 in cash, according to the court documents.
The alleged proceeds were significantly higher than the pair’s reported legitimate earnings. Ganiyu was earning an annual government salary of $67,732, while Somoye reported legitimate yearly wages of $7,506.
Ganiyu was also accused of helping Somoye obtain expedited citizenship before subsequently approving residency applications for Somoye’s wife and child.
The US Attorney’s Office said Ganiyu allegedly manipulated the immigration system by redirecting files from USCIS field offices in Minneapolis, Charlotte and Houston, bypassing local supervisors and personally approving the applications.
Despite the investigation, Ganiyu was not immediately dismissed from USCIS. Instead, he resigned from the agency in March, citing “due to personal reasons”, just months before federal authorities arrested him.
Ganiyu and Somoye appeared in court for the first time on September 2. Each faces a possible sentence of up to five years in federal prison and a fine of up to $250,000 if convicted.