Henry Onyedikachi Echefu, a Nigerian national residing in South Africa at the time, pleaded guilty in a US court to participating in a business email compromise (BEC) fraud scheme, which operated between February and July 2017. Echefu and his co-conspirators, including individuals in Maryland, gained unauthorized access to email accounts, spoofed email addresses, and instructed victims to make wire transfers to accounts controlled by the attackers. They attempted to launder the funds through various means, aiming for over $300,000 but causing nearly $200,000 in losses. Echefu admitted to directly controlling at least $22,000 of the funds and faces up to 20 years in federal prison, with sentencing scheduled for May 23, 2024. One of his co-conspirators, Kosi Goodness Simon-Ebo, pleaded guilty to similar charges in September 2023, extradited from Canada, and was sentenced to 18 months in prison, with orders to pay restitution and a money judgment.
Read more: https://www.securityweek.com/nigerian-bec-scammer-pleads-guilty-in-us-court/
