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FBI arrests 2 Nigerians in US over cyber-fraud

Published

7 years ago

June 13, 2018

The US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has arrested two Nigerians for allegedly defrauding businesses and U.S. citizens of several millions of dollars.
According to the agency, the fraud was a significant effort to disrupt Business Email Compromise (BEC) schemes.

The FBI said the suspects aimed at intercepting and hijacking cash transfers from businesses and individuals, including many senior citizens.

The FBI said in a statement: “The operation also resulted in the seizure of nearly $2.4 million, and the disruption and recovery of approximately $14 million in fraudulent wire transfers

“Following an investigation led by the FBI with the assistance of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Criminal Investigation, Gloria Okolie and Paul Aisosa, both Nigerian nationals residing in Dallas, Texas, were charged in an indictment filed on June 6 in the Southern District of Georgia.

“According to the indictment, they are alleged to have victimised a real estate closing attorney by sending the lawyer a spoofing email posing as the seller and requesting that proceeds of a real estate sale in the amount of $246,000 be wired to Okolie’s account.

“They are charged with laundering approximately $665,000 in illicit funds. The attorney experienced $130,000 in losses after the bank was notified of the fraud and froze $116,000.”