Self-proclaimed Nigerian “tech queen,” Sapphire Egemasi, is facing up to 20 years in a U.S. federal prison after her arrest in connection with a cybercrime syndicate that defrauded American government agencies of millions of dollars.
Egemasi was apprehended by the FBI on or around April 10, 2025, in the Bronx, New York, following a 2024 grand jury indictment charging her and several others with internet fraud and money laundering. The crimes allegedly occurred between September 2021 and February 2023.
Court records show Egemasi was a key operative in a syndicate allegedly led by Ghanaian national Samuel Kwadwo Osei, which used phishing emails and spoofed websites to steal login credentials and reroute public funds.
“She was the technical mastermind,” prosecutors stated. “Her role involved building fake government websites used to dupe employees and siphon off public money.”
Egemasi reportedly redirected \$965,000 from the city of Kentucky into a fraudulent PNC Bank account in 2022, and helped launder another $330,000 into Bank of America.
Investigators revealed she previously lived in the UK, spent time in Ghana, and operated much of the syndicate’s tech infrastructure from abroad.
To cover her tracks, Egemasi falsely claimed affiliation with firms like BP, H\&M, and Zara, aiming to boost her profile and evade suspicion. She cultivated a glamorous public image on platforms like LinkedIn and Instagram, where she shared photos of luxury vacations, designer outfits, and tech devices, branding herself as a global tech entrepreneur.
“She was admired by many young African tech enthusiasts,” one investigator said, “but it was all a carefully engineered lie.”
Authorities assert that Egemasi’s lavish lifestyle was funded by criminal proceeds, not legitimate tech success. Now in federal custody, she and her co-defendants await trial in Lexington, Kentucky
Each faces up to 20 years imprisonment, significant financial penalties, and possible deportation upon conviction.
