James Robert Smith, Email Scam, California 2022

281 people were arrested worldwide in a massive coordinated effort to disrupt business email compromise schemes that target businesses and individuals, including many senior citizens.

Operation reWired, a four-month law enforcement effort by the U.S. government and international partners, was conducted in the United States and overseas, resulting in 281 arrests in the United States and overseas, including 167 in Nigeria, 18 in Turkey, and 15 in Ghana. Arrests were also made in France, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Malaysia, and the United Kingdom (UK).

The operation also resulted in the seizure of nearly $3.7 million.

BEC, also known as “cyber-enabled financial fraud,” is a sophisticated scam often targeting employees with access to company finances and businesses working with foreign suppliers and/or businesses that regularly perform wire transfer payments.

The same criminal organizations that perpetrate BEC also exploit individual victims, often real estate purchasers, the elderly, and others, by convincing them to make wire transfers to bank accounts controlled by the criminals.

“The Department of Justice has increased efforts in taking aggressive enforcement action against fraudsters who are targeting American citizens and their businesses in business email compromise schemes and other cyber-enabled financial crimes,” said Deputy Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen.

“In this latest four-month operation, we have arrested 74 people in the United States and 207 others have been arrested overseas for alleged financial fraud. The coordinated efforts with our domestic and international law enforcement partners around the world has made these most recent actions more successful,” Rosen added.

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