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Nigerian Man Pleads Guilty to Hacking and Fraud Scheme | Forum

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billyHill Moderator
billyHill Apr 22 '17
I found this on the US DOJ's website here : https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndny/pr/nigerian-man-pleads-guilty-hacking-and-fraud-scheme

I first thought it was a typical 419 scammer, but actually this one I'd call a hacker... these scams are getting more and more sophisticated and harder to spot as scams. The bottom line is we are responsible for our actions, so act cautiously at all times.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  Monday, April 17, 2017

Nigerian Man Pleads Guilty to Hacking and Fraud Scheme

UTICA, NEW YORK –

Obinna Obioha, age 31, and a citizen of Nigeria, pled guilty today to wire fraud, and admitted to participating in a scheme to hack into computers and email accounts in the United States for the purpose of stealing money from American companies.

The announcement was made by United States Attorney Richard S. Hartunian and Vadim D. Thomas, Special Agent in Charge of the Albany Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

As part of his guilty plea, Obioha admitted that, while in Nigeria, he worked with others to hack into computers and email accounts used by dozens of victims in the United States and around the world. After monitoring victims’ information to identify imminent commercial transactions, Obioha and his associates created knockoff email addresses that appeared similar to – but varied slightly from – victims’ legitimate email addresses.

Obioha and his associates then used those bogus email accounts to send fraudulent invoices to victims, instructing them to wire funds to bank accounts controlled by Obioha and his associates, under the pretense that the wires were payments for actual deals that had been previously negotiated by the victims. Obioha admitted that between January and September 2016, he was involved in at least 50 wire transfers, and that about $6.5 million was sent to the bank accounts that he and his associates controlled. The accounts received money from fraud victims in New York, Florida, Illinois, Ohio, and Texas, among other places.

Obioha was arrested on October 6, 2016, after flying from Lagos, Nigeria, to JFK International Airport. He has been in custody since that time.

United States Attorney Richard S. Hartunian said: “Foreign criminal enterprises prey upon American businesses and are using increasingly sophisticated means to do so, as demonstrated by this scheme. Obioha’s apprehension and conviction is a reminder that foreign nationals targeting American businesses cannot operate with impunity and that the reach of U.S. law enforcement agencies is global.”

“The FBI plays the long game,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Vadim D. Thomas. “Today's plea is proof that no matter how distant justice may seem, no matter where criminal enterprises may operate, the FBI and our law enforcement partners are committed to securing justice for our businesses and communities.”

Obioha faces up to 20 years in prison and a maximum $250,000 fine, as well as the possibility of being ordered to pay restitution, when he is sentenced on July 26, 2017 by United States District Judge David N. Hurd. A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the particular statute the defendant is charged with violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other factors.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Wayne A. Myers.


The Forum post is edited by billyHill Apr 22 '17
Willi
Willi Jan 20 '18
Although this case is a small victory, sadly scammers and hackers seem to be almost immune to prosecution in Nigeria and similar countries. This is mainly due to widespread corruption going high up in the ranks of those, who ought to fight the scammers. Of course money talks, and getting a cut of the profits of scammers is a very lucrative source of extra income for officials. As long as such corruption cannot be eliminated, foghting scammers will be an uphill struggle without a chance to ever reach the top. Maybe stiff sanctions against thosecountries could either force the governments to actually fight the scammers, or spark a revolution by the huge majority of honest people, who will be fed up to suffer from the consequences of online crime and force a change of government.

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