How FBI Nabbed ‘Tech Queen’ Sapphire Egemesi For Alleged Large-Scale Cyber Fraud

BY AISHA ABUBAKAR

A Nigerian lady Sapphire Egemasi has been arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in connection with a large-scale fraud scheme that targeted multiple US government agencies.

Egemasi, a programmer who was popularly known online as ‘tech queen’, was arrested around April 10, 2025, in Bronx, New York, alongside other co-conspirators, including Samuel Kwadwo Osei, who appeared to have led the syndicate.

Their arrest stems from a federal grand jury indictment filed in 2024, charging the suspects with multiple counts of internet fraud and money laundering for crimes said to have occurred between September 2021 and February 2023.

Egemasi and her Ghanaian co-defendants allegedly conspired to defraud the city of Kentucky of millions of dollars.

According to investigators, her role involved designing spoof websites impersonating official US government domains to steal login credentials and facilitate the transfer of stolen funds.

Before her arrest, Egemasi was reportedly based in Cambridge, United Kingdom, although authorities believe she previously lived in Ghana, where she likely established ties with her co-conspirators.

She allegedly served as the syndicate’s tech lead, orchestrating the creation of fake sites and overseeing wire transfers to accounts under the gang’s control.

Text message records allegedly show that in August 2022, the syndicate rerouted $965,000 stolen from Kentucky into a PNC Bank account.

In a separate transaction around the same time, $330,000 was funnelled into an account with Bank of America.

To conceal the origins of her wealth, Egemasi reportedly claimed to have held multiple roles, mostly internships, at major multinational companies, including British Petroleum, H&M, and Zara.

Before her arrest, the 28-year-old Egemasi portrayed herself online as a tech-savvy and financially liberated woman.

She cultivated a glamorous polished digital persona, especially on LinkedIn, where she showcased her skills and “flaunted a luxurious lifestyle” with posts of designer fashion, high-end gadgets, and trips to destinations like Greece, Portugal, and France, all allegedly funded by illicit proceeds.

She currently enrolled in Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge where she’s again, studying Human Resources Management, to further seem immaculate.

As according to her, her tech career started in 2021. This persona earned her admiration among aspiring African tech professionals, who saw her as a role model.

Egemasi is currently in federal custody in Lexington, Kentucky, awaiting trial.

If convicted, she and her co-defendants, including other Ghanaian nationals, face up to 20 years in prison, significant fines, and potential deportation.

The case underscores the sophistication of international cybercrime networks and the challenges of combating them, while sparking discussions about performative wealth and online deception.

Although FBI have confirmed that it is difficult to track the funds because they were neatly disguised.

Federal prosecutors have not fully released their investigations, indicate the investigation is ongoing, with more indictments possible and more people likely to go down when the case is fully established.

Before this, Sapphire was notorious for broke shaming people and completely condemning yahoo boys.