Ex-US Defence official who laundered millions for Nigerian scammers freed

A former United States Department of Defence official, Samuel Marcus, who pleaded guilty to helping Nigeria-based fraudsters launder millions of dollars, has been released from prison after serving less than nine months.

Marcus, 34, was released after a US federal court credited him for the time he had spent in custody while awaiting trial, ruling that he had served sufficient time for the offence.

Recall that Marcus pleaded guilty to one count of concealment of money laundering before US District Judge Joel Slomsky.

He was arrested and indicted by the US Department of Justice in February and initially faced a potential sentence of up to 100 years in prison.

Prosecutors alleged that Marcus participated in the scheme between July 2023 and December 2025 while working as a logistics specialist with the Department of Defence.

According to the prosecution, he acted as a money mule for online fraudsters operating from Nigeria under aliases including ‘Rachel Jude’ and ‘Ned McMurray’.

Marcus allegedly received proceeds from fraudulent activities into his personal and business bank accounts before transferring the money to accounts controlled by the criminal group in Nigeria.

Prosecutors further alleged that he continued to assist the fraudsters even after Federal Bureau of Investigation, FBI, agents informed him that the funds passing through his accounts were stolen and that the transactions were consistent with money laundering.

At his sentencing hearing on Friday, Marcus’s lawyer and prosecutors agreed that the time he had already spent in custody was sufficient punishment for the offence. The court subsequently ordered his release.

Reports said his sentence was reduced partly because he was born with several intellectual disabilities, including autism.

Despite his release, Marcus will remain under supervised release for three years and is expected to continue receiving mental health treatment.