Crime
Nigerian hacker appears in US court, admits $6.5m fraud
A Nigerian identified as Obinna Obioha, 31, who hacked into computers and email accounts in the United States for the purpose of stealing money from American companies has admitted committing the crime.
He pleaded guilty to wire fraud charges against him before a United States Attorney Richard S. Hartunian and Vadim D. Thomas, Special Agent in Charge of the Albany Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The accused revealed that while holidaying in Nigeria, he worked with accomplices to hack into computers and email accounts used by scores of victims in the United States and around the world.
He further explained that after monitoring essential victims’ information, he would be able to ascertain whether anyone has commercial transactions.
It was gathered that as soon as they got those details, Obioha and his associates would create a knockoff email addresses that appeared similar to victims’ legitimate email addresses.
With those bogus email accounts created, they use it to send fraudulent invoices to victims, instructing them to wire funds to bank accounts controlled by Obioha and his associates, under the pretense that the wires were payments for actual deals that had been previously negotiated by the victims.
Admitting that between January and September 2016, he was involved in at least 50 wire transfers, involving about $6.5 million was sent to the bank accounts controlled by him and his associates.
It was further learnt that the suspect received money from fraud victims in New York, Florida, Illinois, Ohio, and Texas, among other places.
Luck, however, ran out of the suspect after he was placed under surveillance and was arrested on October 6, 2016, after flying from Lagos, Nigeria, to JFK International Airport.
Attorney Richard S. Hartunian said: “Obioha’s apprehension and conviction is a reminder that foreign nationals targeting American businesses cannot operate with impunity and that the reach of U.S. law enforcement agencies is global.”
If convicted, Obioha faces up to 20 years in prison and a maximum $250,000 fine, as well as the possibility of being ordered to pay restitution.
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