Two Nigerian men have been jailed for their part in a $5 Million phishing scheme.
The scam saw millions of dollars stolen in unauthorized wire transfers between February 2016 and July 2021. The victims were sent phishing emails that appeared to come from trusted sources, like a bank or a vendor.
The victims opened attachments that infected their computers with malicious malware. This allowed the fraudsters unauthorized access to their systems and email accounts.
The men then stole sensitive information which they used to deceive people at the victim companies into executing wire transfers to accounts specified by the co-conspirators. The defendants and their co-conspirators caused or attempted to cause over $5 million in losses to the victim companies.
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The Defendants
- Franklin Ifeanyichukwu Okwonna, 34, pleaded guilty on May 20 to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated identity theft for his role in the scheme. He was sentenced in the Eastern District of Virginia to five years and three months in prison and ordered to pay nearly $5 million in restitution for participating in a computer hacking.
- Ebuka Raphael Umeti, 35, was sentenced on Aug. 27 to 10 years in prison and ordered to pay nearly $5 million in restitution. He was convicted by a federal jury on June 13 of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, three counts of wire fraud, conspiracy to cause intentional damage to a protected computer, and intentional damage to a protected computer.
Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Jessica D. Aber for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Assistant Director in Charge David Sundberg of the FBI Washington Field Office made the announcement.
