Kerby Rigaud, Email Compromise Scam, Georgia 2018

ATLANTA, GA – Kerby Rigaud, 27, of Duluth, Georgia, is headed to federal prison after being sentenced for his pivotal role in a sprawling international business email compromise scheme that bilked victims out of over $1 million. The scam targeted individuals and businesses across the United States, including within the Northern District of Georgia.

From April 2015 to April 2016, Rigaud acted as a key facilitator, recruiting a network of individuals willing to let him use their bank accounts to receive fraudulent wire transfers. These transfers originated from unsuspecting victims who believed they were responding to legitimate communications. Rigaud’s co-conspirators employed sophisticated tactics, including hacking email accounts and “spoofing” email addresses to convincingly impersonate trusted sources like banks and closing agents.

Victims received emails that *looked* legitimate, directing them to wire funds to accounts controlled by Rigaud and his crew. Once the money hit those accounts—many of which were opened in the metro-Atlanta area—Rigaud directed his recruits to funnel the funds to financial institutions in Asia, effectively laundering the stolen money across international borders. The scheme attempted to steal over $1 million in total.

“Rigaud and his co-conspirators stole over $1 million from victims while perpetrating their email scam,” stated U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak. Pak urged citizens to “carefully scrutinize any email directing the transfer of money via wire,” a warning that comes far too late for those already victimized. The Secret Service, leading the investigation, emphasized the transnational nature of the crime.

“Rigaud and his co-conspirators used cyberspace to organize a complex criminal scheme that crossed borders and defrauded numerous people right here in Georgia,” said Malcolm D. Wiley, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the United States Secret Service, Atlanta Field Office. “Today’s sentence should be a warning to other like-minded criminals that take advantage of unsuspecting victims that they will be punished for their crimes.”

Rigaud was sentenced to two years and three months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release. In addition to his imprisonment, he has been ordered to pay restitution totaling $176,059.03. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kamal Ghali, Deputy Chief of the Cyber and Intellectual Property Crime Section. The U.S. Secret Service spearheaded the investigation, highlighting the growing threat of cyber-enabled financial crimes.

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