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by Gift Habib

Two Nigerians, Franklin Okwonna and Ebuka Umeti, have been sentenced to prison by a U.S. federal court for their involvement in a large-scale wire fraud scheme that defrauded victims of over $5m.

This was contained in a statement posted on the website of the US Department of Justice, on Tuesday.

On Tuesday, Okwonna, 34, was sentenced by a federal judge in the Eastern District of Virginia to five years and three months in prison.

He was also ordered to pay nearly $5 million in restitution. Okwonna had pleaded guilty on May 20 to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated identity theft.

Okwonna’s co-defendant, 35-year-old Umeti, was sentenced on August 27 to 10 years in prison and was similarly ordered to pay nearly $5m in restitution.

Umeti was convicted by a federal jury on June 13 on charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, three counts of wire fraud, conspiracy to cause intentional damage to a protected computer, and intentional damage to a protected computer.

“A Nigerian national was sentenced today in the Eastern District of Virginia to five years and three months in prison and ordered to pay nearly $5m in restitution for participating in a computer hacking and business email compromise scheme that caused over $5m in losses to multiple victims in the United States and elsewhere.

“Franklin Ifeanyichukwu Okwonna, 34, pleaded guilty on May 20 to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated identity theft for his role in the scheme.

“Okwonna’s co-defendant, Nigerian national Ebuka Raphael Umeti, 35, was sentenced on Aug. 27 to 10 years in prison and ordered to pay nearly $5 million in restitution,” the statement read in part.

According to court documents and trial evidence, between February 2016 and July 2021, Okwonna, Umeti, and their co-conspirators orchestrated a sophisticated fraud scheme targeting businesses through phishing emails.

These emails, designed to appear as if they were from trusted sources such as banks or vendors, contained malicious software (malware) that, once opened, allowed the conspirators to gain unauthorized access to the victims’ computer systems and email accounts.

The fraudsters then used this access to obtain sensitive information, tricking employees into authorizing wire transfers to accounts controlled by the conspirators. The scheme caused or attempted to cause over $5 million in losses to the targeted businesses.

The statement added, “According to court documents and evidence presented at Umeti’s trial, between February 2016 and July 2021, Umeti, Okwonna, and their co-conspirators caused millions of dollars in unauthorized wire transfers by sending victim businesses phishing emails.

“These emails falsely appeared as though they originated from trusted sources, such as a bank or a vendor.

“After the victim opened an attachment, their computers would be infected with malicious software, or “malware,” that allowed the defendants and their co-conspirators to gain unauthorized access to the victim’s computer systems and email accounts.

“As a result of this scheme, the defendants and their co-conspirators caused or attempted to cause over $5 million in losses to the victim companies.”