US court jails Nigerian hacker Obinna Obioha

Obinna Obioha, a Nigerian hacker has been jailed for 51 months
by a New York federal judge for operating a fraud scheme that
swindled $6.5 million from businesses in the US and elsewhere.
US District Judge David N. Hurd sentenced Obinna Obioha, 31, for
running a scheme in which he instructed hackers to hack into
computers and email accounts of individuals around the world using
malicious software.

The announcement of Obioha’s sentence was made by Acting United
States Attorney Grant C. Jaquith and Vadim D. Thomas, Special Agent
in Charge of the Albany Field Office of the Federal Bureau of
Investigation.

“Obioha, working from Nigeria, was a central figure in a fraud
scheme using digital disguises and deceit to bilk businesses out of
millions of dollars. We will continue to track down and bring to
justice cyber criminals like Obioha no matter where they operate. I
thank the FBI for its terrific work in this case identifying and
apprehending Obioha,” said Acting United States Attorney Grant C.
Jaquith.

FBI Special Agent in Charge Vadim D. Thomas said: “These schemes
can rob individuals and businesses of their livelihood. Cyber-crime
is a serious threat and the FBI is prepared to go to any lengths to
apprehend those like Obioha.”

As part of his guilty plea to wire fraud in April 2017, Obioha
admitted that, while in Nigeria, he worked with and instructed
others to hack into computers and email accounts used by dozens of
victims in the United States and around the world. The organization
infiltrated victims’ computers and email accounts using malicious
software (“malware”). After monitoring victims’ information to
identify imminent commercial transactions, Obioha and his
associates created knockoff email addresses that appeared similar
to – but varied slightly from – victims’ legitimate email
addresses.

Obioha and his associates used those bogus email accounts to
send fraudulent invoices to victims, instructing them to wire funds
to bank accounts controlled by Obioha and his associates, under the
pretense that the wires were payments for actual deals that had
been previously negotiated by the victims.

He admitted that between January and September 2016, he was
involved in at least 50 wire transfers, and that about $6.5 million
was sent by wire to bank accounts that he and his associates
controlled. The accounts received money from fraud victims in New
York, Florida, Illinois, Ohio, and Texas, among other places.

During today’s sentencing, US District Judge Donald N. Hurd,
described Obioha as “right in the middle of the action” in “very
sophisticated criminal activity” designed to achieve “millions of
dollars in illegal funds.”

Obioha was arrested on October 6, 2016, after flying from Lagos,
Nigeria, to JFK International Airport. He has been in custody since
that time.

This case was investigated by the FBI and prosecuted by
Assistant US Attorney Wayne A. Myers.

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Obinna Obioha, a Nigerian hacker has been jailed for 51 months
by a New York federal judge for operating a fraud scheme that
swindled $6.5 million from businesses in the US and
elsewhere.
US District Judge David N. Hurd sentenced Obinna Obioha, 31, for
running a scheme in which he instructed hackers to hack into
computers and email accounts of individuals around the world using
malicious software.

The announcement of Obioha’s sentence was made by Acting United
States Attorney Grant C. Jaquith and Vadim D. Thomas, Special Agent
in Charge of the Albany Field Office of the Federal Bureau of
Investigation.

“Obioha, working from Nigeria, was a central figure in a fraud
scheme using digital disguises and deceit to bilk businesses out of
millions of dollars. We will continue to track down and bring to
justice cyber criminals like Obioha no matter where they operate. I
thank the FBI for its terrific work in this case identifying and
apprehending Obioha,” said Acting United States Attorney Grant C.
Jaquith.

FBI Special Agent in Charge Vadim D. Thomas said: “These schemes
can rob individuals and businesses of their livelihood. Cyber-crime
is a serious threat and the FBI is prepared to go to any lengths to
apprehend those like Obioha.”

As part of his guilty plea to wire fraud in April 2017, Obioha
admitted that, while in Nigeria, he worked with and instructed
others to hack into computers and email accounts used by dozens of
victims in the United States and around the world. The organization
infiltrated victims’ computers and email accounts using malicious
software (“malware”). After monitoring victims’ information to
identify imminent commercial transactions, Obioha and his
associates created knockoff email addresses that appeared similar
to – but varied slightly from – victims’ legitimate email
addresses.

Obioha and his associates used those bogus email accounts to
send fraudulent invoices to victims, instructing them to wire funds
to bank accounts controlled by Obioha and his associates, under the
pretense that the wires were payments for actual deals that had
been previously negotiated by the victims.

He admitted that between January and September 2016, he was
involved in at least 50 wire transfers, and that about $6.5 million
was sent by wire to bank accounts that he and his associates
controlled. The accounts received money from fraud victims in New
York, Florida, Illinois, Ohio, and Texas, among other places.

During today’s sentencing, US District Judge Donald N. Hurd,
described Obioha as “right in the middle of the action” in “very
sophisticated criminal activity” designed to achieve “millions of
dollars in illegal funds.”

Obioha was arrested on October 6, 2016, after flying from Lagos,
Nigeria, to JFK International Airport. He has been in custody since
that time.

This case was investigated by the FBI and prosecuted by
Assistant US Attorney Wayne A. Myers.

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