JOHANNESBURG (AP) — Six Nigerian nationals linked to an organized criminal network that allegedly swindled American women out of over $6 million through online romance scams will be extradited to the United States on Friday, South African police said.
The men, who were arrested in the South African city of Cape Town in 2021, are set to be handed over to officials from the Federal Bureau of Investigation on Friday and transported to the U.S. to face wire fraud and money laundering charges.
They are accused of belonging to a criminal network known as the Black Axe, which Interpol describes as part of criminal groups responsible for a significant share of the world’s cyber-enabled financial fraud, typically through romance scams, cryptocurrency and investment scams.
According to South African police, the men are alleged to have targeted more than 100 women in the U.S., defrauding them of more than $6 million through online romance or love scams.
Among the alleged victims were pensioners and businesspeople who were reportedly targeted through sophisticated online relationships.
“Through the coordination of Interpol South Africa, the six will today be transported from a correctional facility in Cape Town to Cape Town International Airport, where they will be handed over to officials from the FBI and the United States Secret Service, who arrived in South Africa this morning,” said police spokesperson Katlego Mogale.
A recent operation by Interpol targeting West African organized crime groups led to the arrest of 58 people and identification of 263 suspects linked to various criminal networks involved in similar crimes, the multinational police body said last month.
The operation aimed to disrupt money laundering, identify high-value targets, seize assets and support arrests and prosecution.
In South Africa, authorities raided seven locations in the city Johannesburg linked to a syndicate that ran romance and investment scams targeting retirees in English-speaking countries.
There, police arrested 39 people and froze $2.67 million in bank accounts.
FILE - An FBI seal is displayed on a podium before a news conference at the field office in Portland, Ore., Jan. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane, File)
WASHINGTON (AP) — Friday's inflation report is shaping up to be among the most consequential in years.
Oil and gas prices have spiked again on the back of renewed combat in the Middle East. The Federal Reserve is considering whether to lift its short-term interest rate next week, with some officials saying Friday's report could swing them either way. And longer-term interest rates jumped Thursday, partly because of fears of higher inflation, pushing mortgage borrowing costs higher.
The Trump administration is seeking to counter voter concerns about high prices and rising interest rates as the midterm elections approach. President Donald Trump on Wednesday promised $5,000 payments to every American adult if the GOP keeps a majority in Congress, a move that would require congressional approval and could stoke inflation. And Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has stepped up buybacks of Treasury bonds in an effort to keep longer-term interest rates lower. Yet on Thursday the yield on the 10-year Treasury reached a nearly three-year high.
On Friday, the government is expected to report that headline inflation ticked down last month, to 3.3% from 3.4%, according to data provider FactSet, though that is still above the Fed's 2% target. And higher gas prices will likely push inflation back up next month when September's data is released.
On a monthly basis, prices are forecast to have risen 0.4% from July to August, a pace that if it continues would keep inflation far above 2%.
Excluding the volatile food and energy categories, core prices are projected to have risen by just 0.2% from July to August and 2.4% last month from a year earlier. The year-over-year figure would be down slightly from 2.5% in July.
Yet the cooling in core prices may not sway the Fed or console many consumers. Renewed fighting in the Middle East has pushed up energy costs, with the nationwide average cost of a gallon of gas on Thursday jumping 7% from a month ago to $4.28. Gas prices on Labor Day were at a record high for that date, and diesel fuel prices have reached all-time highs.
Many economists and Federal Reserve officials have long considered higher gas prices one of several “one-time” shocks that are lifting inflation, along with tariffs and surging investment in AI data centers. For months, the hope has been that as the war against Iran wound down, and the effects of tariffs faded, inflation would grind lower.
Yet there are few signs of the Iran war cooling, and even Trump has said gas prices won't retreat until after the midterm elections in November. And while Trump's trade fight with Canada will impact a small number of imports, it is a reminder that tariffs remain a threat that could push up other costs.
“This is not one and done,” said Kathy Bostjancic, chief economist at Nationwide. “It's unclear when tensions in the Middle East are going to settle down. ... This seems like it could be a prolonged disruption.”
While core prices are rising more slowly than overall prices, more expensive oil and gas could spread through more of the economy. Pricier jet fuel will likely push up airfares, and more expensive diesel will raise shipping costs, which could make groceries and other goods shipped by truck more expensive. On Thursday, a wholesale price report showed a jump in chemical prices, likely a result of more expensive oil.
Federal Reserve policymakers are split on whether to hike at a meeting next week, so much so that differences of a few hundredths of a percentage point in Friday's inflation report could determine whether the central bank boosts its benchmark interest rate or leaves it unchanged. The Fed, which is tasked with keeping inflation in check, typically lifts borrowing costs to slow spending and limit price increases.
Investors and analysts differ over whether the Fed will hike rates at their Sept. 15-16 meeting. Chair Kevin Warsh suggested he was leaning toward a rate hike in a high-profile speech two weeks ago, but he did not commit to doing so at a specific time.
And last Thursday, Fed governor Christopher Waller, echoing some other Fed officials, suggested that if Friday’s inflation report shows price increases cooling, then he would support keeping rates where they are. Waller is one of the 12 officials who vote on each Fed rate decision.
Waller's heavy emphasis on August's figures has raised the stakes for Friday's report. If the monthly core figure rounds up to 0.3%, some Wall Street analysts expect the Fed would then hike rates. But if it rounded down to 0.2% or lower, then a hold could be more likely. If it is somewhere in between, it's not clear what the Fed may do. One analyst called such considerations “ludicrous precision.”
For his part, Warsh doesn't want to tip his hand about his next moves, which some economists say will make this kind of uncertainty more common before Fed meetings.
Customers shop at an Apple store Thursday, Sept. 3, 2026, in Miami Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)
