A Nigerian scammer extradited from South Africa to the U.S. over wire fraud charges, James Junior Aliyu, has been sentenced to 90-month jail term.

“James Junior Aliyu, a Nigerian national, will serve a 90-month sentence for his role in a wire fraud and money laundering conspiracy after planning to hack business email servers,” U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced in a statement on Saturday.

It added, “Aliyu was extradited from South Africa to face justice. He was slapped with a $1.2m forfeiture order and a $2.4m restitution order and will be removed from the United States when he completes his sentence.”

Mr Aliyu during his trial entered a plea agreement and would be deported to Nigeria upon competion of his jail term.

According to U.S. Department of Justice, he Mr Aliyu and his co-conspirators, including co-conspirators residing in Maryland, gained unauthorised access to email accounts associated with individuals and businesses they targeted. 

“As detailed in the plea agreement, the intended loss for transactions Aliyu was directly involved in was at least $4,162,211.65. The actual loss resulting from these transactions was at least $1,570,475.  Aliyu directly controlled at least $1,194,565 of the funds they obtained from victims,” the DoJ said.

It added, “According to the plea agreement, Aliyu is required to pay a money judgment of at least $1,194,565, and restitution in the full amount of the victims’ losses, which the parties agree is at least $2,389,130.”