Suspects accused of swindling American women out of $6 million in romance scam extradited to U.S. from South Africa

Updated on: September 11, 2026 / 12:24 PM EDT / CBS/AP

Six Nigerian nationals linked to an organized criminal network that allegedly swindled American women out of more than $6 million through online romance scams will be extradited to the United States on Friday, South African police said.

The men, who were arrested in the South African city of Cape Town in 2021, are set to be handed over to officials from the Federal Bureau of Investigation on Friday and taken to the U.S. to face wire fraud and money laundering charges.

They are accused of belonging to a criminal network known as the Black Axe, which Interpol describes as being part of criminal groups responsible for a significant share of the world's cyber-enabled financial fraud, typically through romance scams, cryptocurrency and investment scams.

The move comes less than two years after a prominent leader of the Black Axe was extradited to the U.S. for conspiring to engage in internet scams and money laundering.

According to South African police, the men are alleged to have targeted more than 100 women in the U.S., defrauding them of more than $6 million through online romance or love scams.

Among the alleged victims…

Original source: https://www.cbsnews.com/healthwatch/