Nosa Onaghise, a 33 year-old Nigerian residing in Austin, Texas has been sentenced to 51 months in US federal prison for his participation in a conspiracy that laundered more than $1.7 million.
Onaghise was sentenced for his role in a conspiracy that laundered more than $1.7 million in Business Email Compromise (BEC) scam proceeds, stolen from multiple companies.
He must also pay $1,639,419.57 in restitution; pay a $230,000 money judgment, forfeit $14,282.50 seized from a bank account and to be placed on supervised release for three years, after completing jail term.
Onaghise’s sentence was announced by U.S. Attorney Gregg N. Sofer; Special Agent in Charge Shane Folden, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), San Antonio; and, Inspector in Charge Adrian Gonzalez, U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), Houston Division
In a BEC scheme, scammers target businesses and individuals making wire transfer payments, often targeting employees with access to company finances.
The scammers trick the employees into making wire transfer payments to bank accounts thought to belong to trusted partners—except the money ends up in accounts controlled by the fraudsters.
Sometimes the scammers use computer intrusion techniques to alter legitimate payment request emails, changing the recipient bank accounts. Sometimes they send spoofed emails from email addresses similar to the real email accounts used by trusted partners.