BREAKING NEWS:
END OF THE ROAD FOR 30YEAR OLD FRAUDSTER IN TEXAS:
NIGERIAN KING of FRAUD ON AMERICAN Student VISA, AMECHI Colvis Amuegbunam JAILED 46 Months in Federal PRISON…Scam involved 10 victims totaling a loss of over $3Million
*Pleads GUILTY to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, He’s been in custody since the time of his arrest in August 2015-Plea Documents
* Ordered to pay $615,555.12 in Restitution for his role in what has become known as a “Business Email Compromise” scheme
* Sends Fake emails to companies in the Northern District of Texas to wire transfer funds as instructed on a pdf document that was attached to the email.
* ‘Investigation of this particular scheme began when two companies in the Dallas/Fort Worth area reported to the FBI Dallas office that they had received targeted spear phishing emails’-U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas
BY GEORGE ELIJAH OTUMU/FOREIGN BUREAU CHIEF, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
NOTORIOUSLY known in African community as ‘King of Wire Fraud’, due to his luxurious lifestyles and ‘quick-rich’ behaviour on a fast-lane, AMECHI Colvis Amuegbunam has met his waterloo in North America, as his criminal activities attracted investigation by Federal Bureau of Intelligence, FBI Dallas office who ensured that this Nigerian who deceitfully traveled to United States on a ‘Student VISA’ was arrested, prosecuted and jailed for 46 months in Federal Prison.
Going by a Press Statement released by Department of Justice through the United States Attorney’s Office in Northern District of Texas on the website of FBI, it reads: “A Nigerian citizen in the U.S. on a student visa was sentenced before U.S. District Judge Ed Kinkeade to 46 months in federal prison and ordered to pay $615,555.12 in restitution for his role in what has become known as a “Business Email Compromise” (BEC) scheme, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.
“Amechi Colvis Amuegbunam, 30, of Lagos, Nigeria, pleaded guilty in March 2017 to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. He has been in custody since the time of his arrest in August 2015.”
According to plea documents in the case, from November 2013 through August 2015, Amuegbunam and other individuals, sent fraudulent emails to companies in the Northern District of Texas and elsewhere, containing misrepresentations that caused the companies to wire transfer funds as instructed on a pdf document that was attached to the email.
The release confirms: “The investigation of this particular scheme began when two companies in the Dallas/Fort Worth area reported to the FBI Dallas office that they had received targeted spear phishing emails. These emails appeared to be a forwarded message, allegedly from a top executive at the company, sent to an employee in the company’s accounting department who had authority to make financial transfers for the company. Although the emails appeared to be coming from a company executive, the messages were actually coming from a false email account fraudulently created to look like a legitimate company email account.
“A fraudulent domain name was used that contained one small difference from the true company’s email address – such as transposed letters. After complying with the spear-phishing email instructions to transfer funds, the companies became victims of the BEC scheme. The investigation traced the creation of some of the pdfs to Amuegbunam.”
Going by the factual resume, the scheme involved at least ten victims totaling a loss of approximately $3,700,000.
The FBI investigated and Assistant U.S. Attorney C.S. Heath prosecuted. In May 2017, the FBI issued a Public Service Announcement about the BEC scheme. https://www.ic3.gov/media/2017/170504.aspx
PRESS STATEMENT
Department of Justice
U.S. Attorney’s Office
Northern District of Texas
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, August 28, 2017
Nigerian Man Sentenced for Role in “Business Email Compromise” Scheme That Caused $3.7 Million Loss to U.S. Companies
DALLAS — A Nigerian citizen in the U.S. on a student visa was sentenced today before U.S. District Judge Ed Kinkeade to 46 months in federal prison and ordered to pay $615,555.12 in restitution for his role in what has become known as a “Business Email Compromise” (BEC) scheme, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.
Amechi Colvis Amuegbunam, 30, of Lagos, Nigeria, pleaded guilty in March 2017 to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. He has been in custody since the time of his arrest in August 2015.
According to plea documents in the case, from November 2013 through August 2015, Amuegbunam and other individuals, sent fraudulent emails to companies in the Northern District of Texas and elsewhere, containing misrepresentations that caused the companies to wire transfer funds as instructed on a pdf document that was attached to the email.
The investigation of this particular scheme began when two companies in the Dallas/Fort Worth area reported to the FBI Dallas office that they had received targeted spear phishing emails. These emails appeared to be a forwarded message, allegedly from a top executive at the company, sent to an employee in the company’s accounting department who had authority to make financial transfers for the company. Although the emails appeared to be coming from a company executive, the messages were actually coming from a false email account fraudulently created to look like a legitimate company email account. A fraudulent domain name was used that contained one small difference from the true company’s email address – such as transposed letters. After complying with the spear-phishing email instructions to transfer funds, the companies became victims of the BEC scheme. The investigation traced the creation of some of the pdfs to Amuegbunam.
According to the factual resume, the scheme involved at least ten victims totaling a loss of approximately $3,700,000.
The FBI investigated and Assistant U.S. Attorney C.S. Heath prosecuted. In May 2017, the FBI issued a Public Service Announcement about the BEC scheme. https://www.ic3.gov/media/2017/170504.aspx
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Topic(s):
Financial Fraud
Component(s):
USAO – Texas, Northern
Contact:
Lisa Slimak
214-659-8600
Lisa.Slimak@usdoj.gov
