By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Another Nigerian, Olakean Jacob Ponle, has appeared in federal court in Chicago, United States for allegedly orchestrating an international cyber fraud scheme that defrauded U.S. businesses in six states out of tens of millions of dollars.
Both Ponle, also known as Woodberry; and Ramon Olorunwa Abbas, popularly known as Hushpuppi; were extradited from the United Arab Emirates on July 2 to face charges of “business email compromise” in the U.S.
Their case came after another Nigerian, Obinwanne Okeke, Chief Executive of Invictus Group, pleaded guilty on June 18 to $11 million internet fraud charged by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
Also last month, the U.S Department of State (DOJ) seized the U. S. assets and published the names of six Nigerians charged with internet fraud of over $6 million against American citizens and businesses.
In the latest case, the DOJ accused Abbas of money laundering in schemes meant to pull in “hundreds of millions of dollars.”
The charge sheet alleged that Ponle
- Helped with a plan to launder $14.7 million stolen from a “foreign financial institution.”
- Helped take about $923,000 from a New York law firm.
- Was involved in a plot to steal about $124 million from an English Premier League club.
- Participated in several 2019 fraud campaigns worth “tens of millions of dollars,” including one Chicago-based company that sent a total $15.2 million.
- Had victims wire funds to money mules who converted it to Bitcoin and sent it to a digital wallet Ponle controlled.
Both Abbas and Ponle could serve up to 20 years in prison if convicted.
U.S. Attorney Nick Hanna saw the move as evidence the U.S. could hold online fraud perpetrators responsible “no matter where they live.”
However, this also illustrates how difficult it is to halt internet scams, reports engadget.com
According to the website, American officials have been identifying foreign fraud campaigns for years, and they only sometimes lead to arrests.
Although these moves could send a message to scammers who think they can escape without penalty, they might not serve as practical deterrents, engadget.com added.
Money mules
Associated Press reported that Ponle was arrested last month in the UAE, where he was living, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Chicago.
He was expelled from the country and into FBI custody, arrived in Chicago on the night of July 2, and appeared in court in the morning of July 3 to face a charge of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
It was unclear whether Ponle, who prosecutors say was also known as “Mr. Woodbery” and “Mark Kain,” has an attorney to comment on his behalf. He is scheduled to appear in court July 9 for a detention hearing.
Prosecutors say the scheme spanned at least the first nine months of 2019 and involved multiple unknown subjects who gained unauthorised access to U.S.-based companies’ email accounts.
They sent email messages to employees that were nearly identical to prior legitimate emails sent over the company’s accounts, according to a criminal complaint.
The fraudulent emails instructed people to wire funds to a bank account set up by “money mules” at Ponle’s direction, prosecutors say.
The complaint alleges Ponle directed the mules to convent the proceeds of the fraud into Bitcoin and send them to a virtual wallet he owned and operated.
An unnamed Chicago company was defrauded into sending wire transfers totaling $15.2 million. Companies based in Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, New York, and California also were victims of the fraud, prosecutors say.
Okeke
In the case involving Okeke, he agreed on June 18 to the charges of a computer-based intrusion fraud scheme, which caused $11 million in losses to his victims
This was disclosed in a publication by the U.S. Attorney’s Office Eastern District of Virginia, Department of Justice and reported by Nairametrics.
Court documents showed that Okeke, 32, and his co-conspirators were involved in these acts from 2015 to 2019 through various computer-based frauds.
The conspirators obtained and compiled credentials of hundreds of victims, including victims in the Eastern District of Virginia and some other places.
As part of the scheme, Okeke and others engaged in an email compromise scheme targeting Unatrac Holding Limited, the export sales office for Caterpillar heavy industrial and farm equipment.
In April 2018, a Unatrac executive became a victim of a phishing email that allowed conspirators to capture login credentials. They sent fraudulent wire transfer requests and attached fake invoices.
The court documents said Okeke took part in the efforts against Unatrac through fraudulent wire transfers totalling nearly $11 million, which was transferred overseas.
He pleaded guilty to a conspiracy to commit wire fraud and faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison when the sentence will be given on October 22.
Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Okeke, who had made it into Forbes Africa’s under 30 list in 2016, had initially denied committing any crime against American citizens or companies and, as such, questioned the jurisdiction of the court in U.S.
Although he and his conspirators did not deny committing the crime, they did not want the prosecution to go on in the US.
In August last year, the FBI released a list of 80 alleged cyber criminals, 77 of them Nigerians, who were involved in money laundering, aggravated identity theft, and conspiracy to commit fraud, among other crimes.