The FBI has arrested Ajibola Oduntan after agents linked him to a ticketing scam that cost the Kentucky Performing Arts over $100,000 in ticket sales for the Broadway musical Wicked between September 2023 and October 2023. Oduntan, 47, who also holds an Irish passport, was indicted in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky, Louisville, on charges of wire fraud and wire fraud conspiracy, after allegedly stealing the credit card details of numerous U.S. citizens to buy at least 61 Wicked tickets from KPA.

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The UK-based suspect then resold the tickets to unsuspecting Broadway fans on StubHub, a leading U.S. site for ticket resales. When credit card companies detected the scam, they issued chargebacks to their customers from KPA, leaving a loss of more than $100,000, since the funds were deducted only after the shows. KPA reported the fraud to the FBI, providing payment details including the names, emails, and IP addresses of the credit card users.

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Although VPNs were used to conceal the scheme, the FBI traced the money, discovering that ticket resale proceeds were deposited into PayPal accounts before being transferred to personal accounts linked to Oduntan. Special agent Daniel W. Heath confirmed numerous transactions between three StubHub accounts and PayPal accounts with multiple emails, consistent with wire fraud activity. Mr Heath also identified four emails linked to a PayPal account belonging to the fraudster.

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Ahead of Wicked’s September run, investigators found $350,000 in transactions sent from StubHub to PayPal accounts held by a Nigerian and a UK citizen. The money was then routed into Oduntan’s Revolut bank account 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,” court documents filed on August 7 revealed.

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Oduntan was caught out when he applied for a US visa, as his phone number matched one tied to fraudulent ticketing transactions in an email linked to his PayPal account. The FBI, which routinely screens U.S. visa applications for criminal history, sought an arrest warrant from Magistrate Judge Regina S. Edward to apprehend Mr Oduntan once he arrived in the U.S.

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The warrant was approved and kept sealed until his late August arrival, when law enforcement quickly arrested him. He is being held at Grayson County Detention Centre after pleading not guilty to wire fraud and wire fraud conspiracy. A grand jury indicted him on September 3, with his trial set to begin on November 10.

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