He is currently being held at the Grayson County Detention Centre after pleading not guilty.
By Ife Osemedua
365Daily – The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has arrested Ajibola Oduntan, a 47-year-old Nigerian based in the United Kingdom, in connection with a multimillion-naira ticket fraud scheme targeting the Broadway musical, Wicked.
According to court filings, Mr. Oduntan, who also holds an Irish passport, was indicted by a federal grand jury in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky, Louisville, on charges of wire fraud and wire fraud conspiracy. Investigators allege that between September and October 2023, he used stolen credit card details of U.S. citizens to purchase at least 61 tickets from the Kentucky Performing Arts (KPA).
The tickets were then resold on StubHub, a popular resale platform, to unsuspecting buyers. The scam unraveled after credit card companies detected the fraudulent purchases and issued chargebacks, leaving KPA with losses estimated at $100,000.
Despite using VPNs to mask his activities, FBI special agent Daniel W. Heath traced the transactions. Court documents show that the proceeds were funneled through PayPal accounts linked to Mr. Oduntan and later moved into his Revolut and Allied Irish Bank accounts in Ireland.
“PayPal records obtained under valid legal process showed that ODUNTAN deposited nearly $350,000 into PayPal from StubHub between January 2023 and July 2024,” prosecutors stated in filings dated August 7.
Investigators also linked the phone number on Mr. Oduntan’s U.S. visa application to the same number used in fraudulent transactions. Acting on this evidence, the FBI secured an arrest warrant from Magistrate Judge Regina S. Edwards. The warrant was sealed until Mr. Oduntan’s arrival in the U.S. in late August, when he was taken into custody.
He is currently being held at the Grayson County Detention Centre after pleading not guilty. His trial is scheduled to begin on November 10.