Nigerian National Convicted in $1.5M Business Email Scam

A federal jury yesterday convicted a Nigerian national for operating a business email compromise scheme targeting victims in the United States and elsewhere.

Alexandria, VA – Ebuka Raphael Umeti, 35, was found guilty of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, three counts of wire fraud, conspiracy to cause intentional damage to a protected computer, and intentional damage to a protected computer.

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Umeti and his co-conspirators sent phishing emails to victim businesses, which were made to appear as though they originated from trusted senders, such as a bank or a vendor.

These phishing attacks allowed the co-conspirators to gain unauthorized access to victim computer systems and email accounts, including by infecting victim computers with malicious software or “malware” that provided the co-conspirators with remote access.

Umeti and his co-conspirators then exploited that access to obtain sensitive information, which they used to deceive individuals at victim companies into executing wire transfers to accounts specified by the co-conspirators.

As a result of this scheme, the co-conspirators caused or attempted to cause more than $1.5 million of loss to victims.

“Umeti participated in a sophisticated computer hacking and business email compromise scheme that targeted numerous businesses in the United States,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.

“Although Umeti and his co-conspirators carried out their scheme from outside the United States, they were not beyond the reach of the Justice Department.

Today’s conviction should serve as yet another reminder that, if you target American victims, the Criminal Division is committed to tracking you down and holding you responsible for your criminal conduct, no matter where you are,” Argentieri added.

Umeti is scheduled to be sentenced on August 27 and faces a maximum penalty of 27 years in prison on the wire fraud conspiracy count, five years in prison on the conspiracy to cause intentional damage to a protected computer count, 20 years on each wire fraud count, and 10 years on the intentional damage to a protected computer count.

A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Co-defendant Franklin Ifeanyichukwu Okwonna, 34, pleaded guilty on May 20 to his role in the scheme and is scheduled to be sentenced on September 3.

The FBI Washington Field Office investigated the case, and the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs worked with the FBI’s Legal Attaché Office in Nairobi, the U.S. Marshals Service, and Kenya’s Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions and Directorate of Criminal Investigation to secure the extradition of Umeti and his co-defendant.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Laura D. Withers for the Eastern District of Virginia and Senior Counsel Thomas S. Dougherty of the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section (CCIPS) and are prosecuting the case.

CCIPS Senior Counsel Aarash Haghighat assisted in the investigation and indictment of the case.

The FBI remains committed to relentlessly pursuing those engaged in malicious cyber activities and ensuring they are held accountable, said Assistant Director in Charge David Sundberg of the FBI Washington Field Office.

Today’s guilty verdict is a victory in our fight against cybercrime and should serve as a warning to cybercriminals who believe they can operate with impunity, Sundberg added.

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