US prosecutors have charged 25 individuals, including Nigerians, over a syndicate that defrauded victims of millions of dollars.

 

The group ran a global email fraud scheme spanning Nigeria and the United States, stealing about $215 million from businesses and individuals. The network extended across multiple continents and used sophisticated tactics to induce victims to send money through fraudulent emails.

According to US court documents, the case exposed a large-scale “business email compromise” (BEC) scheme targeting more than 1,000 victims across 47 US states and at least 19 countries.“Individuals, businesses, and other organisations in the United States were targeted and hacked by Nigerian-linked fraud organisations.“Their objective was to gain access to email accounts held by individual users. The co-conspirators would then monitor the communications and other activities of the individual email users to learn about their business practices and contacts,” the US Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Ohio said in a statement.

Authorities said the scheme involved hacking email accounts, monitoring communications, and sending convincing fraudulent payment requests.

Three defendants – Oluwafemi Michael Awoyemi, Aruan Drake and Peter Reed – were convicted after a four-day trial in Toledo, Ohio, on charges of wire fraud conspiracy. Awoyemi and Drake were also found guilty of money laundering.

Investigators said about $50 million of the stolen funds were converted into cashier’s cheques and processed through a Chicago-based business. Its owner, Lon Goodman, was convicted for facilitating the laundering of the proceeds.

Goodman accepted cashier’s cheques from co-conspirators using false identification or cheques payable to others.“He also routinely accepted false know-your-customer (KYC) information and continued doing business with individuals after being warned by banks that cheques were obtained with stolen funds or otherwise returned as fraudulent,” authorities said.

Wide impactThe fraud affected victims across multiple US states, including Ohio cities such as Norwalk, Akron and Kent, as well as California, Texas, Florida and New York. Victims were also reported in the UK, Germany, Canada and Australia.

Other affected countries included Mexico, Italy, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, New Zealand, Malaysia, Panama, Bermuda and Romania.

In one case, a company transferred $2.7 million to an account controlled by the syndicate.

Authorities seized assets linked to the suspects, including high-end watches worth more than $200,000, nearly $1.2 million in cash and cryptocurrency, and a property in Georgia.

With 25 individuals convicted, US officials said sentencing will reflect each person’s role and criminal history.

In addition to the three convicted at trial, 22 others had earlier pleaded guilty to wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy. They include several Nigerian nationals, a Ghanaian national and US-based accomplice.

The FBI, US Postal Inspection Service and US Border Patrol Intelligence Unit led the investigation, which prosecutors described as one of the largest crackdowns on international email fraud networks.

The operation, which began several years ago, relied on tactics such as business email compromise and phishing. Fraudsters used compromised accounts and fake invoices to manipulate victims into wiring money to accounts under their control.

Investigators said the group operated a well-organised global network, with members based in Nigeria and the US but targeting businesses across the US and Europe.

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