FBI nab Nigerian for $800,000 theft via cyber payroll hack

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) have revealed the arrest of a Nigerian in the U.S., Charles Onus, for alleged theft of $800,000 from payroll deposits through cyber hacking of multiple user accounts of a company in America.

The U.S. Department of Justice in a statement on Wednesday, disclosed that Onus engaged in “a scheme to steal payroll deposits by conducting cyber intrusions into multiple user accounts maintained by a company that provides human resources and payroll services to employers across the country”.

The DOJ indicated the Nigerian was arrested and detained on April 14 in San Francisco, USA, adding that “he is scheduled to appear in Manhattan Federal Court on June 2 before Magistrate Judge Sarah Cave”.

The DOJ indicated that the suspect was allegedly “involved in the scheme from July 2017 to 2018.”

The allegations further highlighted: “during the scheme, unauthorized access was allegedly gained to over 5,500 company user accounts via a cyber intrusion technique known as “credential stuffing.”

The Justice Department maintained that after successfully gaining unauthorized access to a company user account, Onus was allegedly “changing the bank account information designated by the account’s user to enable him to receive the user’s payroll to a prepaid debit card under his control”.

According to the DOJ: “The compromised company user accounts were associated with employers whose payroll was processed by the company, including employers located in the Southern District of New York.”

Manhattan US Attorney Audrey Strauss was cited to have stated: “Charles Onus allegedly participated in a scheme that stole nearly $1 million by hacking into a payroll processing company’s system to access user accounts and divert payroll to prepaid debit cards he controlled.

“As alleged, Onus did this as effectively as someone who commits bank burglary, but with no need for a blowtorch or bolt-cutters. Thanks to the FBI and IRS-CI, Onus is in custody and facing serious federal charges.”