Three Maryland Residents Facing Federal Indictment for Dating and Business Email Compromise Scams With Alleged Losses of More Than $2.3 Million | USAO...
Baltimore, Maryland - A federal grand jury has returned indictments against three federal conspiracy charges of wire fraud, money laundering conspiracy, and aggravated identity theft:
Noel Chimezuru Agoha, 37, from Baltimore, Maryland
Sessieu Ange Oulai, 34, from Parkville, Maryland, and
Kelechi Arthur Ntibunka, 32, from Essex, Maryland.
The indictment was returned on March 22, 2021 and unsealed today. Agoha and Ntibunka were arrested yesterday and made their first appearances today. At today's hearing, US judge Beth P. Gesner ordered that Agoha and Ntibunka be detained until a hearing scheduled for May 12, 2021. Oulai is currently in custody on independent state indictments and will first appear on federal indictments at a later date.
The indictment was announced by acting United States attorney for Maryland District, Jonathan F. Lenzner. Special Agent in Charge James R. Mancuso of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Baltimore; Special Agent in Charge Edwin Guard of the Washington Field Office of the US State Department's Diplomatic Security Service; and Commissioner Michael Harrison of the Baltimore Police Department.
According to the three-count indictment, from August 2016 to December 2018, the conspirators teamed up with others to carry out a business email compromise ("BEC") scam in which the defendants sent misleading emails to victim companies who posed as customers or agents of companies with whom the victims were continuously doing business in order to receive money from the victims. The parties posing as such also became victims of BEC fraud as the aim of the fraud was to intercept payments intended for those parties and / or deprive those parties of the money to which they were entitled .
The program opened “drop accounts” with financial institutions and controlled them by the defendants and their co-conspirators in order to raise money from victims of criminal fraud programs, including the BEC fraud allegedly committed by the defendants and their accused conspirators. In the course of the conspiracy, Agoha disclosed the identity of at least one BEC victim to a co-conspirator.
The indictment alleges that the conspirators created fraudulent email accounts that included or abbreviated the names of the BEC fraud victims or accessed the BEC victims' email accounts without authorization in order to send fraudulent emails Sending impersonating victims and receiving information and funds without the victims' knowledge or approval. Conspirators emailed and phoned the BEC victims to solicit and instruct the victims to make electronic transfers and cash payments to the drop accounts without impersonating the victims' knowledge or approval. Agoha, Oulai, Ntibunka, and other conspirators allegedly monitored the activities of drop accounts (deposits, transfers, and balances), relayed information, and texted co-conspirators on transactions. In total, the defendants and their co-conspirators allegedly received or attempted to obtain more than $ 1.1 million in proceeds from BEC fraud.
The indictment also alleges that Agoha partnered with others from May 2016 to July 2018 to carry out a dating scam. As set out in the indictment, members of the conspiracy communicated with individual victims on dating websites and created a false pretext for a romantic relationship with the victims in order to persuade the victims to send money. The conspirators allegedly used common dating scam tactics, including allegations of fictitious financial difficulties and crises, to persuade victims to transfer money to the drop accounts. As part of the conspiracy, Agoha allegedly provided co-conspirators with information about the drop account to forward to dating victims, including routing numbers, account numbers and the name of the account holder. The indictment alleges that Agoha and his co-conspirators raised more than $ 1.2 million in revenue from dating fraud.
Finally, the indictment alleges that Agoha, Oulai and Ntibunka conspired to launder the proceeds of the dating and BEC scams in order to hide the source of the funds. Specifically, the defendants allegedly negotiated payments for their role in conducting drop account transactions, transferring and withdrawing money received from the scammers to other accounts, withdrawing cash, and negotiating bank checks made payable to themselves and others.
If convicted, the defendants face a maximum sentence of 30 years in federal prison for conspiracy to commit wire fraud at financial institutions and a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison for conspiracy to commit money laundering. In addition, Agoha faces a mandatory two-year prison sentence following any other prison sentence for aggravated identity theft. Actual penalties for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district judge will decide each sentence based on U.S. sentencing guidelines and other legal factors.
A charge is not a guilty verdict. Individuals charged with charges are presumed innocent unless and until they are found guilty in subsequent criminal proceedings.
Acting United States attorney Jonathan F. Lenzner commended HSI, Diplomatic Security, and the Baltimore Police Department for their work in the investigation and thanked the Florida Law Enforcement Agency for their assistance. Mr. Lenzner thanked US assistant attorney Matthew J. Maddox who is pursuing this case.
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