BOSTON – In a brazen cybercrime, a group of scammers stole nearly $5.3 million from a Massachusetts workers union in a business email compromise scheme that’s left the community reeling.
The US Department of Justice’s United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts filed a civil forfeiture action to recover the stolen funds, which were allegedly laundered through a series of intermediary bank accounts and cryptocurrency exchanges.
According to the complaint, the workers union in Dorchester received an email in January 2023 requesting a change of payment information from someone claiming to work at an investment consulting firm. The email was spoofed, with a single letter changed from the firm’s actual email address, and instructed the union to transfer $6.4 million to a different bank account.
The union, unaware of the scam, made the transfer, and the funds were then laundered through various bank accounts in Hong Kong, China, Singapore, and Nigeria. Investigators were able to track the stolen funds to seven domestic bank accounts, which were subsequently seized by US authorities.
“BEC fraud schemes present a serious threat to businesses and individuals nationwide, causing significant financial and emotional harm to victims by exploiting trusted communication channels they rely upon every day,” said Acting US Attorney Joshua S. Levy. “Today’s civil forfeiture action demonstrates that when victims report such misconduct to the authorities, there may be steps we can take to recover stolen funds.”
The civil forfeiture action is being prosecuted by Assistant US Attorney Matthew M. Lyons of the Asset Recovery Unit, along with Trial Attorneys Jasmin Salehi Fashami and Adrienne E. Rosen of the Justice Department’s Money Laundering & Asset Recovery Section.
Members of the public who believe they are victims of a cybercrime, including cryptocurrency scams, romance scams, investment scams, and business email compromise fraud scams, should contact USAMA.CyberTip@usdoj.gov.
The US Attorney’s Office reminds the public that the accusations in the complaint and the description of the complaint constitute only allegations that certain property is subject to forfeiture. The United States must prove, by a standard of preponderance of the evidence, that the property is subject to forfeiture. If the US prevails, the court will order all interests of any potential claimant forfeited.
Related Federal Cases
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Key Facts
- State: Massachusetts
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Cybercrime
- Source: Official Source ↗
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