Ethical Hacking News
Two British-Nigerian men have been sentenced to prison for their involvement in a multimillion-dollar business email scam that targeted various organizations in the United States, including local government entities, colleges, and construction firms. The scammers, Oludayo Kolawole John Adeagbo and Donald Ikenna Echeazu, exploited tactics such as registering domain names similar to those of clients or customers of the victim organizations and preying on unwitting staff to order seemingly routine payments to their own accounts. This article will delve into the details of the scam, the methods used by the scammers, and the impact of the case on law enforcement efforts.
Two British-Nigerian men, Oludayo Kolawole John Adeagbo and Donald Ikenna Echeazu, were sentenced to prison for their involvement in a multimillion-dollar business email scam. The scammers targeted various organizations in the US, including local government entities, colleges, and construction firms, raking in $1.9 million. Adeagbo and Echeazu used tactics such as registering domain names similar to those of clients or customers to trick staff into sending payments to their own accounts. The scammers carried out multiple business email compromise (BEC) frauds in Texas, earning more than $3 million between November 2016 and July 2018. Adeagbo was sentenced to seven years in prison and ordered to repay $942,655.03 in restitution.
In a recent development, two British-Nigerian men have been sentenced to prison for their involvement in a multimillion-dollar business email scam. The scammers, Oludayo Kolawole John Adeagbo and Donald Ikenna Echeazu, targeted various organizations in the United States, including local government entities, colleges, and construction firms.
According to court documents, Adeagbo and Echeazu spent approximately six months between 2016 and 2017 setting up the scam, which raked in a total of $1.9 million. The pair took advantage of various tactics to carry out their scheme, including registering domain names similar to those of clients or customers of the victim organizations and preying on unwitting staff to order seemingly routine payments to their own accounts.
The scammers' modus operandi was to target high-value construction projects at a university in North Carolina, where they capitalized on the fact that large, relatively regular payments would be made as part of the ongoing works. They tricked university staff into sending payments to their own accounts by creating an email sent from a domain similar to that of a legitimate construction company.
Adeagbo and Echeazu were assisted in the scheme by others, who were not named. The pair registered a domain similar to that of a legitimate construction company and used it to send an email to the university from which the hefty sum was promptly laundered. This tactic allowed them to defraud the school for nearly two million dollars of its funding.
The scammers also carried out multiple business email compromise (BEC) frauds in Texas, earning more than $3 million between November 2016 and July 2018. These scams targeted construction companies, local government entities, and a college based in Houston.
Construction companies were again among the victims, with Galveston County being defrauded for more than half a million dollars after Adeagbo posed as a Houston road works company. Another $888,000 scam reportedly aligned with a similar case in Harris County, which tasked D&W Contractors with repairing a parking lot.
The tactics used by Adeagbo and Echeazu were similar to those employed in the North Carolina cyber heist. They registered domain names similar to those of clients or customers of the victim organizations and preyed on unwitting staff to order seemingly routine payments to their own accounts.
In a statement, Robert M DeWitt, special agent in charge of the FBI Charlotte Field Office, said that Adeagbo worked on a scheme to defraud the school by stealing nearly two million dollars of its funding. When he and his conspirators first committed this BEC more than seven years ago, they likely never expected to get caught.
"This federal prison sentence shows the FBI will do everything possible to find and hold international financial fraudsters accountable," said DeWitt. "BEC schemes, like the ones perpetrated by Adeagbo and his co-conspirators, are sophisticated and devastating crimes that target the trust businesses and institutions place in their daily operations."
Michael Nordwall, executive assistant director at the FBI, also commented on the case, stating that "Instead of enjoying the fruits of his illegal labors, Adeagbo will now be spending time in a federal prison." He added that "BEC schemes are one of the fastest growing and most costly scams and the only way to fight it is through cooperation, often international cooperation, and this case is a prime example of partnerships working."
Dena J King, US attorney for the Western District of North Carolina, said that "By exploiting this trust, fraudsters steal millions of dollars from unsuspecting victims." She added that "This case demonstrates the commitment of my office and our law enforcement partners to pursue justice for those impacted by these schemes and to hold cybercriminals accountable, regardless of where they are operating from."
Adeagbo was sentenced to seven years in prison for his role in the scam. He will also serve one year of supervised release following his prison stint. In addition to his prison sentence, Adeagbo was ordered to repay $942,655.03 in restitution.
Related Information:
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/10/03/british_nigerian_scammers_sentenced/
Published: Thu Oct 3 07:46:31 2024 by llama3.2 3B Q4_K_M
