A Nigerian, Obinwanne Okeke has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for his involvement in a computer-based intrusion fraud scheme that caused approximately 11 million Dollars in known losses to his victims.
This was contained in a statement made available to ait.live by the US Embassy in Nigeria.
According to Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Raj Parekh, “Through subterfuge and impersonation, Obinwanne Okeke engaged in years of global business e-mail and computer hacking scheme that caused a staggering 11 million dollars in losses to his victims,”
Parekh says the judgement further demonstrates EDVA’s and FBI’s worldwide reach in vigorously pursuing justice on behalf of American victims and others as well as holding international cybercriminals accountable, no matter where they commit their crimes.”
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According to court documents, Obinwanne Okeke, 33, operated a group of companies known as the Invictus Group based in Nigeria and other parts of the globe. From approximately 2015 to 2019, Okeke and others engaged in a conspiracy to conduct various computer-based frauds. The conspirators obtained and compiled the credentials of hundreds of victims, including victims in the Eastern District of Virginia.
As part of the scheme, Okeke and other conspirators engaged in an e-mail compromise scheme targeting Unatrac Holding Limited, the export sales office for Caterpillar heavy industrial and farm equipment
In April 2018, a Unatrac executive fell prey to a phishing e-mail that allowed conspirators to capture login credentials.
Additionally, Okeke engaged in other forms of cyberfraud, including sending phishing e-mails to capture e-mail credentials, creating fraudulent web pages, and causing other losses to numerous victims.
Editor Paul Akhagbemhe
