America’s Grand Jury indicts a Nigerian Fugitive in Ghana, OLUSEGUN SAMSON ADEJORIN for Hacking into Charitable Organization to steal $7.5million in New York, Maryland
…facing 20 years jail term after arrest, extradition
*Slammed with eight-count charge of wire fraud, aggravated identity theft and unauthorized access to a protected computer, purchased a credential harvesting tool designed to steal email login credentials, registered spoofed domain names and concealed the fraudulent emails
*Suspect posed as an employee of the New York City organization to request withdrawals of the organization’s funds from the Maryland organization, which provided investment services to the New York City organization
BY GEORGE ELIJAH OTUMU/AMERICA Senior Investigative Editor
A federal grand jury indicted a Nigerian man, Olusegun Samson Adejorin for an alleged $7.5 million scheme to defraud two charitable organizations in Maryland and New York.
The eight-count indictment, unsealed on Tuesday, charged Olusegun Samson Adejorin with wire fraud, aggravated identity theft and unauthorized access to a protected computer. According to the indictment, Adejorin impersonated employees of the two organizations, gaining access to their email accounts and withdrawing funds from a New York City organization to a charitable organization in North Bethesda.
Adejorin was arrested in Ghana in late December and is detained pending his initial appearance in Ghana, according to a press release issued by the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office.
“Cybercrime wreaks global havoc, so this office will continue leading in preventing, disrupting and, whenever necessary, investigating and prosecuting cybercriminals,” said Erek L. Barron, U.S. attorney for the district of Maryland.
Between June and August 2020, Adejorin gained access to employee email accounts and impersonated the employees to induce financial transactions. Adejorin posed as an employee of the New York City organization to request withdrawals of the organization’s funds from the Maryland organization, which provided investment services to the New York City organization.
According to the indictment, Adejorin fraudulently obtained the credentials of employees at both organizations and posed as those employees to send emails from their accounts, including emails making fraudulent requests for the withdrawal of investment funds.
Adejorin also allegedly purchased a credential harvesting tool designed to steal email login credentials, registered spoofed domain names and concealed the fraudulent emails from an employee by moving the fraudulent emails to an inconspicuous location within the employee’s mailbox.
Adejorin ultimately caused more than $7.5 million of the New York City organization’s funds to be sent from the Maryland organization to another, unrelated bank account, according to the indictment.
Adejorin faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison for each of five counts of wire fraud, a maximum of five years in federal prison for unauthorized access to a protected computer and a mandatory sentence of two years in federal prison for each of the two counts of aggravated identity theft. Adejorin’s maximum penalty for two of the wire fraud counts could be increased by seven years for knowingly falsely registering and using a domain name, according to the press release.
Barron and R. Joseph Rothrock, acting special agent in charge of the Baltimore FBI field office, announced the indictment. The FBI Legal Attaché in Accra, Ghana and the Ghanaian prosecution office, law enforcement and immigration authorities assisted with the case.
Coreen Mao, assistant U.S. attorney, is prosecuting the case.
Counsel for Adejorin could not be determined, as Adejorin’s initial appearance is in Ghana.
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