James Aliyu, $6-Million BEC Scheme, Maryland 2019

Greenbelt, Maryland - James Aliyu, 29, a foreign national, is facing federal charges related to a $6-million business email compromise (BEC) scheme. A federal grand jury returned an indictment charging Aliyu, Kosi Goodness Simon-Ebo, 30, and Henry Onyedikachi Echefu, 31, with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering in connection with a BEC scheme that resulted in the loss of more than $6 million.

The indictment alleges that the defendants conspired with others to perpetrate a BEC scheme from February 2016 until at least July 2017. The defendants gained unauthorized access to individual and business email accounts and sent false wiring instructions to the victims' email accounts from spoofed emails, deceiving the victims into sending money to bank accounts controlled by the perpetrators.

Aliyu, a Nigerian citizen who resided in South Africa at the time of the crimes, was extradited from South Africa to the United States to face federal indictment. If convicted, Aliyu faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison for the wire fraud conspiracy, money laundering conspiracy, and for each count of money laundering and wire fraud.

The indictment also alleges that the defendants conspired to commit money laundering. They planned to disburse the fraudulently obtained funds to other accounts by initiating account transfers, withdrawing cash, obtaining cashier's checks, and by writing checks to other individuals and entities, to hide the true ownership and source of the assets.

Earlier this year, Simon-Ebo and Echefu were previously extradited from Canada, pled guilty, and have been sentenced. Simon-Ebo is charged in three wire-fraud counts in which he wired $6,343,533.10 collected from victims to accounts controlled by conspirators.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kelly O. Hayes. U.S. Attorney Erek L. Barron commended HSI's Mid-Atlantic El Dorado Task Force for its work in the investigation. The U.S. Attorney's Office also thanked the South African Department of Justice and Constitutional Development, National Prosecuting Authority of South Africa, and the South African Police Service for their assistance in securing Aliyu's extradition.

A BEC scheme is a type of cybercrime in which a scammer gains access to a business or individual's email account and sends false wiring instructions to the victim's email account from a spoofed email, deceiving the victim into sending money to a bank account controlled by the scammer.

For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney's Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit https://www.justice.gov/usao-md and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/pr/foreign-national-facing-federal-charges-related-6-miilion-plus-fraud-scheme