A Nigerian man based in the United Kingdom, Chibundu Joseph Anuebunwa, has been extradited to the United States over his alleged involvement in a multi-million dollar business email compromise scam.
The extradition of Mr Anuebunwa was announced in a statement released by the U.S Attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York.
Mr Anuebunwa would be tried alongside two other Nigerians, according to the details of the case already assigned to a U.S. District Judge, Paul Gritty.
Mr. Anuebunwa’s extradition, according to US Attorney Damian Williams, will send a message to anyone who believes they can defraud people in the United States from halfway around the world.
The US government accused Messrs Anuebunwa, the two other Nigerians, Adindu, and Opara of committing the crime between 2014 and 2016 by allegedly participating in Business Email Compromise Scams (“BEC scams”) that targeted thousands of victims worldwide, including the US.
“As part of the BEC scams, emails were sent to employees of various companies directing that funds be transferred to specified bank accounts. The emails purported to be from supervisors at those companies or third-party vendors that did business with those companies.
“The emails, however, were not legitimate. Rather, they were either from email accounts with a domain name that was very similar to a legitimate domain name, or the metadata in the emails had been modified so that the emails appeared as if they were from legitimate email addresses. After victims complied with the fraudulent wiring instructions, the transferred funds were quickly withdrawn or moved into different bank accounts. In total, the BEC scams attempted to defraud millions of dollars from victims.
“ANUEBUNWA and others carried out BEC scams by exchanging information regarding: (1) bank accounts used for receiving funds from victims; (2) email accounts used for communicating with victims; (3) scripts for requesting wire transfers from victims; and (4) lists of names and email addresses for contacting and impersonating potential victims,” the indictment states.
According to the statement, if found guilty of the charge, Mr Anuebunwa, 39, faces one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and could face up to 20 years in prison if convicted.
Related posts:
Nigerian Fraud Suspect Extradited to U.S. over Alleged $148,000 Scam
Trump Impeachment: Newly released email shows White House withheld Ukraine aid
Microsoft announces new feature to outlook email service
Three Tanzanian drug traffickers extradited to U.S.
Turkish President renews call for Khashoggi killers to be extradited for trial in Turkey
Son of Mexican kingpin extradited to U.S. to face trial
BREAKING: Abdulrasheed Maina extradited from Niger, now in Police custody
Autonomy Co-Founder, Mike Lynch, extradited to US
