A former senior immigration services officer with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and his associate have been arrested and charged over an alleged multi-year corruption scheme involving the unlawful approval and expedited processing of immigration applications.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas said Lukman Owolabi Ganiyu, a former USCIS Senior Immigration Services Officer, and Adeniyi Akeem Somoye were arrested on September 2 following a federal criminal complaint filed on August 31.

The duo are accused of conspiring to receive illegal gratuities as a public official by accepting payments in exchange for manipulating immigration cases and securing approvals outside established procedures.

According to the complaint, the alleged scheme operated from December 2019 through March 2026, during which Ganiyu allegedly exploited his official position to approve several categories of immigration applications in return for money.

The applications reportedly included Form I-130 petitions for alien relatives, Form I-485 applications for permanent residence or adjustment of status, Form I-751 petitions to remove conditions on residence and Form N-400 applications for naturalisation.

Federal investigators allege that Ganiyu bypassed mandatory interviews, supervisory reviews, jurisdictional restrictions, background checks and other USCIS procedures to accelerate applications, including cases involving applicants who were allegedly ineligible for immigration benefits under federal law.

The complaint further alleges that Ganiyu and Somoye collected hundreds of thousands of dollars from applicants, with investigators identifying payments that allegedly corresponded directly with immigration approvals issued by Ganiyu.

Authorities also uncovered extensive communications allegedly linking the defendants to immigration applicants.

Investigators said they found thousands of WhatsApp messages and hundreds of telephone calls involving Ganiyu, Somoye and numerous applicants whose cases were handled during the period under investigation.

U.S. Attorney Ryan Raybould described the alleged conduct as a serious abuse of public trust.

“Selling immigration benefits for cash is a blatant abuse of public trust,” Raybould said, warning that federal authorities would continue to act against public corruption in the Northern District of Texas.

FBI Dallas Special Agent in Charge R. Joseph Rothrock said the alleged manipulation of immigration decisions for personal gain threatened the integrity of a process considered critical to national security.

He said the FBI and its law enforcement partners would hold accountable individuals accused of abusing positions of public trust.

Ganiyu and Somoye appeared before a U.S. Magistrate Judge on September 2 for their initial court proceedings.

If convicted, each defendant faces a maximum sentence of five years in federal prison and a fine of up to $250,000.

The case was investigated by the USCIS Office of Investigations, the Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General and the FBI Dallas Field Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Chad Meacham of the Fraud Section is prosecuting the case.

The charges remain allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in court.