US Secret Service Announces Charges Against 4 Men for Online Scam

Four individuals have been charged for a series of alleged fraudulent business email compromises (BEC) and romance schemes that duped people into transferring millions of dollars.

A BEC scheme is a cybercrime in which scammers use fake emails to trick someone into sending money or revealing sensitive personal or company security details. The fraudulent schemes of the defendants “resulted in more than $50 million in losses by individuals and small businesses located within the Eastern District of New York and throughout the United States,” according to a June 12 press release by the U.S. Secret Service.

The defendants are alleged to have orchestrated a series of BEC and other schemes between April 2021 and March 2022.

The defendants and their co-conspirators “misappropriated victim funds and laundered them through shell company accounts in the United States and abroad, sometimes using unsuspecting middlemen, including escrow attorneys and other victims, to further obscure the audit trail and disassociate the funds from the frauds.”

In one case, victims involved in real estate received fake emails claiming to be the legitimate parties in a transaction. The emails closely resembled legitimate email IDs. The defendants used these fake emails to dupe victims into transferring funds into their accounts.

“As another part of the BEC schemes, employees of victim-companies received fraudulent emails purporting to be from legitimate vendors or other business partners of those companies directing them to transfer funds to specified bank accounts.”

In addition to the BEC schemes, the defendants also used romance schemes to defraud victims. In a romance scam, fraudsters use a fictitious identity to secure a victim’s affection, creating an illusion of romance. Eventually, the criminal uses this attachment to make the victim transfer funds.

The first defendant in the case, Animashaun Adebo, is alleged to have directed conspirators to launder proceeds from these crimes via shell company accounts. He eventually received the stolen money in bank accounts located in Nigeria. Mr. Adebo faces 20 years for wire fraud and money laundering, 10 years for receiving stolen funds, and five years for conspiracy to receive stolen funds.

Idowu Ademoroti, the second defendant, allegedly operated an illegal money exchange business and helped launder the proceeds received by Mr. Adebo and others. He faces 20 years for money laundering and 10 years for receiving stolen funds.

The third defendant, Noguan Marvellous Eboigbe, was charged with wire fraud, wire fraud conspiracy, money laundering conspiracy, money laundering, and engaging in unlawful monetary transactions over $10,000. He is accused of facilitating the flow of over $10 million in stolen funds to defendants and their co-conspirators.

Nelson Ojeriakhi, the last defendant, is accused of sending spoof emails to victims with the purpose of misappropriating their money. He faces a prison term of 20 years.

“Today’s indictment is a cautionary tale for anyone who thinks they can target innocent victims through sophisticated cyber fraud and get away with it,” said U.S. Secret Service Special-Agent-in-Charge Patrick J. Freaney.

“Through deception and lies, the alleged ringleaders schemed unwitting victims of more than 50 million dollars, leaving a wake of anguish in their path.”

Protection from BEC Scams

According to Microsoft Security, certain positions in businesses, schools, governments, and nonprofits are targeted by BEC scammers.

This includes individuals in executive and leadership positions since personal details of these people are usually publicly available. Hence, attackers can easily misuse this information.

Individuals in finance positions like accounts payable staff who have details on bank account numbers and payment methods are another group targeted by scammers. People working in HR positions are also vulnerable to criminals as they have access to critical employee information like social security, contact info, and tax statements.

Finally, new or entry-level employees could be targeted as they may not be in a position to verify whether an email they have received is legitimate or not.

The U.S. Secret Service lists out certain warning signs of BEC scams. These frauds may come with an urgent request, like asking to transfer funds within a short time. In some cases, the sender could be unreachable even though the person may insist on the urgency of payment.

The scam could come from an unknown domain. The sender may also ask that the information about transfers be kept a secret, the agency noted.

To safeguard against BEC scams, the FBI advises people not to click on anything in an unsolicited email or text message that asks for updating or verifying account information.

“Look up the company’s phone number on your own (don’t use the one a potential scammer is providing), and call the company to ask if the request is legitimate,” the FBI advises.

“Verify payment and purchase requests in person if possible or by calling the person to make sure it is legitimate. You should verify any change in account number or payment procedures with the person making the request.”