Nigerian Man Pleads Guilty In Manhattan Federal Court To Participating In Business Email Compromise Scams
summary
Nigerian national Onyekachi Emmanuel Opara pled guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and wire fraud for orchestrating global Business Email Compromise scams between 2014 and 2016 that attempted to defraud millions of dollars from thousands of victims, leading to his extradition from South Africa and a scheduled July 2018 sentencing in Manhattan federal court.
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Onyekachi Emmanuel Opara, 29, pled guilty in Manhattan federal court to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of wire fraud for his role in a global Business Email Compromise (BEC) scheme that operated between 2014 and 2016. Opara and co-conspirator David Chukwuneke Adindu used spoofed or visually similar email domains to impersonate company executives and vendors, tricking employees into wiring funds to accounts controlled by the fraud ring, collectively attempting to defraud millions of dollars from thousands of victims worldwide. Opara was arrested in South Africa in December 2016, extradited to the U.S. in January 2018, and faces up to 20 years in prison at his July 11, 2018 sentencing, while Adindu was previously sentenced to 41 months.
narrative
Onyekachi Emmanuel Opara, a 29-year-old Nigerian national, pled guilty in Manhattan federal court to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of wire fraud for his central role in a global Business Email Compromise (BEC) scheme that operated between 2014 and 2016. Opara and co-conspirator David Chukwuneke Adindu deceived victims by sending fraudulent emails that mimicked legitimate business communications, using domain names nearly identical to those of real companies or manipulating email metadata to impersonate executives and vendors. These scams tricked employees into wiring millions of dollars to bank accounts controlled by the criminal network, which were then rapidly moved or withdrawn to evade detection. The group coordinated extensively, sharing lists of potential victims, phishing scripts, email accounts, and bank accounts used to receive and launder funds. Opara was arrested in South Africa in December 2016 under a provisional U.S. warrant and extradited to the United States on January 22, 2018, after a multinational investigation led by the FBI, South African authorities, and Oath’s E-Crime Investigations Team. His co-conspirator, Adindu, had already pled guilty and was sentenced to 41 months in prison in December 2017. Opara is scheduled to be sentenced on July 11, 2018, and faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, as the broader investigation into the BEC network remains ongoing.
Classified cyber-fraud(confidence 95%). No EDGAR filing fingerprint (criminal/DOJ-side scheme). detection rule →
Statutes
Parties
United States of AmericaOnyekachi Emmanuel OparaDavid Chukwuneke Adindu
Keywords
emailscamsbusiness emailemail compromisecompromise scamsvictimsbusinessmanhattan federallinkoparapleads manhattanfederal participatingparticipating businessgovernment non-governmentnon-government sites
Extracted insights
Entities 6
- person bec scams
- scheme_term conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit identity theft
- scheme_term conspiracy to commit wire fraud and wire fraud
- person david chukwuneke adindu
- person Geoffrey S. Berman
- person onyekachi emmanuel opara
Triples 11
- Onyekachi Emmanuel Opara pled guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and wire fraud
- Onyekachi Emmanuel Opara participated in Business Email Compromise scams targeting thousands of victims
- Onyekachi Emmanuel Opara was arrested in South Africa in December 2016
- Onyekachi Emmanuel Opara was extradited on January 22, 2018
- Onyekachi Emmanuel Opara is scheduled to be sentenced on July 11, 2018
- David Chukwuneke Adindu participated in Business Email Compromise scams between 2014 and 2016
- David Chukwuneke Adindu pled guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit identity theft
- David Chukwuneke Adindu was sentenced to 41 months in prison on December 14, 2017
- BEC scams attempted to defraud millions of dollars from victims
- Geoffrey S. Berman is United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York
- U.S. District Judge Paul A. Crotty presided over guilty plea in Manhattan federal court on April 11, 2018
Extracted body text (4,489c)
Press Release Nigerian Man Pleads Guilty In Manhattan Federal Court To Participating In Business Email Compromise Scams Wednesday, April 11, 2018 Share FacebookLinks to other government and non-government sites will typically appear with the “external link” icon to indicate that you are leaving the Department of Justice website when you click the link. XLinks to other government and non-government sites will typically appear with the “external link” icon to indicate that you are leaving the Department of Justice website when you click the link. LinkedInLinks to other government and non-government sites will typically appear with the “external link” icon to indicate that you are leaving the Department of Justice website when you click the link. Email For Immediate Release U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of New York Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today that ONYEKACHI EMMANUEL OPARA pled guilty today before U.S. District Judge Paul A. Crotty in Manhattan federal court to charges stemming from his participation in fraudulent business email compromise scams that targeted thousands of victims around the world, including the United States. Collectively, the scams attempted to defraud victims of millions of dollars. U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said: “Onyekachi Emmanuel Opara ran a global email scam business that victimized thousands of people out of millions of dollars. And even though he operated his so-called ‘business’ in a country halfway around the world, our Office’s global reach ensures that he will serve time in the United States for his crimes.” According to allegations in an Indictment and other documents filed in federal court, as well as statements made in public court proceedings: Between 2014 and 2016, OPARA and co-conspirator David Chukwuneke Adindu participated in Business Email Compromise scams (“BEC scams”) targeting thousands of victims around the world, including in the United States. As part of the BEC scams, fraudulent emails were sent to employees of various companies, purportedly from their supervisors or from third party vendors, directing that funds be transferred to specified bank accounts. The fraudulent emails were sent from either email accounts with a domain name that was very similar to the legitimate domain name of the purported sender, or the metadata in the emails had been modified so that the emails appeared as if they were from legitimate email addresses belonging to the purported sender. After victims complied with the fraudulent wiring instructions, the transferred funds were quickly withdrawn or moved into different bank accounts controlled by members of the scheme. In total, the BEC scams attempted to defraud millions of dollars from victims. OPARA and others carried out BEC scams by exchanging information regarding: (1) bank accounts used for receiving funds from victims; (2) email accounts for communicating with victims; (3) scripts for requesting wire transfers from victims; and (4) lists of names and email addresses for contacting and impersonating potential victims. * * * OPARA, 29, of Lagos, Nigeria, was arrested in South Africa on the basis of a provisional arrest warrant in December 2016 and was extradited on January 22, 2018. He pled guilty today to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of wire fraud, each of which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. OPARA is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Crotty on July 11, 2018, at 11 a.m. Adindu, 30, of Lagos, Nigeria, pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit identity theft, and was sentenced to 41 months in prison on December 14, 2017. The maximum potential sentences are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the judge. Mr. Berman praised the investigative work of the FBI. Mr. Berman also thanked Oath’s E-Crime Investigations Team, the National Prosecuting Authority for South Africa, the South African Police Service, and noted that the investigation is continuing. This case is being handled by the Office’s Complex Frauds and Cybercrime Unit. Assistant United States Attorneys Andrew K. Chan and Daniel M. Loss are in charge of the prosecution. Updated April 11, 2018 Topics Cybercrime Financial Fraud Component USAO - New York, Southern Press Release Number: 18-116
OCR text (4,489c · plain-text · 99% conf)
Press Release Nigerian Man Pleads Guilty In Manhattan Federal Court To Participating In Business Email Compromise Scams Wednesday, April 11, 2018 Share FacebookLinks to other government and non-government sites will typically appear with the “external link” icon to indicate that you are leaving the Department of Justice website when you click the link. XLinks to other government and non-government sites will typically appear with the “external link” icon to indicate that you are leaving the Department of Justice website when you click the link. LinkedInLinks to other government and non-government sites will typically appear with the “external link” icon to indicate that you are leaving the Department of Justice website when you click the link. Email For Immediate Release U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of New York Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today that ONYEKACHI EMMANUEL OPARA pled guilty today before U.S. District Judge Paul A. Crotty in Manhattan federal court to charges stemming from his participation in fraudulent business email compromise scams that targeted thousands of victims around the world, including the United States. Collectively, the scams attempted to defraud victims of millions of dollars. U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said: “Onyekachi Emmanuel Opara ran a global email scam business that victimized thousands of people out of millions of dollars. And even though he operated his so-called ‘business’ in a country halfway around the world, our Office’s global reach ensures that he will serve time in the United States for his crimes.” According to allegations in an Indictment and other documents filed in federal court, as well as statements made in public court proceedings: Between 2014 and 2016, OPARA and co-conspirator David Chukwuneke Adindu participated in Business Email Compromise scams (“BEC scams”) targeting thousands of victims around the world, including in the United States. As part of the BEC scams, fraudulent emails were sent to employees of various companies, purportedly from their supervisors or from third party vendors, directing that funds be transferred to specified bank accounts. The fraudulent emails were sent from either email accounts with a domain name that was very similar to the legitimate domain name of the purported sender, or the metadata in the emails had been modified so that the emails appeared as if they were from legitimate email addresses belonging to the purported sender. After victims complied with the fraudulent wiring instructions, the transferred funds were quickly withdrawn or moved into different bank accounts controlled by members of the scheme. In total, the BEC scams attempted to defraud millions of dollars from victims. OPARA and others carried out BEC scams by exchanging information regarding: (1) bank accounts used for receiving funds from victims; (2) email accounts for communicating with victims; (3) scripts for requesting wire transfers from victims; and (4) lists of names and email addresses for contacting and impersonating potential victims. * * * OPARA, 29, of Lagos, Nigeria, was arrested in South Africa on the basis of a provisional arrest warrant in December 2016 and was extradited on January 22, 2018. He pled guilty today to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of wire fraud, each of which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. OPARA is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Crotty on July 11, 2018, at 11 a.m. Adindu, 30, of Lagos, Nigeria, pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit identity theft, and was sentenced to 41 months in prison on December 14, 2017. The maximum potential sentences are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the judge. Mr. Berman praised the investigative work of the FBI. Mr. Berman also thanked Oath’s E-Crime Investigations Team, the National Prosecuting Authority for South Africa, the South African Police Service, and noted that the investigation is continuing. This case is being handled by the Office’s Complex Frauds and Cybercrime Unit. Assistant United States Attorneys Andrew K. Chan and Daniel M. Loss are in charge of the prosecution. Updated April 11, 2018 Topics Cybercrime Financial Fraud Component USAO - New York, Southern Press Release Number: 18-116