Two Nigerian men who were serving in the United States Air Force have been sentenced to a combined 189 months in federal prison for their involvement in an international cyber fraud operation that targeted businesses and nonprofit organisations across the United States.
Chijioke Timothy Odimegwu, 25, was sentenced to 111 months in prison, while Harafat Mogaji, 26, received a 78-month sentence, according to the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.
The pair were sentenced on Friday, September 25, following an investigation by the FBI and the Air Force Office of Special Investigations.
Prosecutors say scheme used phishing and fake emails
According to prosecutors, Odimegwu and Mogaji participated for nearly two years in sophisticated phishing and email-spamming campaigns designed to steal login credentials belonging to employees of businesses.
The stolen usernames and passwords allowed members of the conspiracy to access employee email accounts.
They then allegedly used compromised accounts and spoofed email addresses designed to impersonate businesses and their trusted partners to manipulate legitimate financial transactions.
The conspirators would intercept communications and provide fraudulent banking instructions, causing businesses to send payments to bank accounts controlled by members of the scheme.
The technique is commonly known as business email compromise, or BEC.
More than $2.4 million diverted in two transactions
Among the largest transactions identified by prosecutors was a wire transfer worth more than $1.68 million belonging to a victim in Iowa City.
The money was redirected to a bank account in Chicago controlled by the conspiracy.
Another victim in Ohio was tricked into sending more than $720,000 to an account controlled by the group.
Together, those two transactions alone amounted to more than $2.4 million.
Prosecutors said the defendants were also involved in numerous additional attempts to redirect payments from businesses in Iowa and elsewhere in the United States.
Financial information also stolen
The operation went beyond intercepting business payments.
Authorities said the defendants’ phishing campaigns harvested sensitive financial information, including bank-account details, PINs and credit and debit card numbers.
One of the organisations targeted was a nonprofit based in Pella, Iowa, whose credit-card information was compromised.
Prosecutors said Odimegwu and Mogaji also obtained stolen financial information from other members of the conspiracy and exchanged compromised information with each other.
The stolen details were subsequently used or intended to be used to make unauthorised purchases and other financial transactions.
More than $1.36 million in restitution ordered
In addition to their prison sentences, both men have been ordered to compensate victims.
Odimegwu was ordered to pay $366,617.59 in restitution, while Mogaji was ordered to pay $995,680.45.
That brings their combined restitution obligations to $1,362,298.04.
Both men were taken into federal custody immediately following sentencing.
After completing their prison terms, each will also be subject to three years of supervised release.
FBI Omaha Special Agent in Charge Eugene Kowel said the prosecution demonstrated that authorities would pursue cybercriminals targeting businesses, nonprofits and individuals regardless of their backgrounds.
The FBI investigated the case with assistance from the Air Force Office of Special Investigations, while Assistant US Attorney Joseph Lubben prosecuted the case.
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