This was disclosed
in a statement signed by the U.S. treasury secretary, Steven Mnuchin, and
posted on the Treasury Department website on Tuesday.
“Today, in a
coordinated action with the U.S. Department of Justice, the Department of the
Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) took action against six
Nigerian nationals for conducting an elaborate scheme to steal over six million
dollars from victims across the United States,” read the statement.
“The individuals
designated today targeted U.S. businesses and individuals through deceptive
global threats known as business email compromise (BEC) and romance fraud.
American citizens lost over $6,000,000 due to these individuals’ BEC fraud
schemes, in which they impersonated business executives and requested and
received wire transfers from legitimate business accounts.
“Money was also
stolen from innocent Americans by romance fraud, in which the designees
masqueraded as affectionate partners to gain trust from victims,” the official
added.
The undividuals
sanctioned are Richard Uzor – BEC scam – a loss in excess of $6,300,000 was
attributed to the scam led by him and an accomplice; Michael Olorunyomi –
Romance Fraud – losses exceeding $1 million was attributed to him.
Alex Ogunshakin, an
accomplice to Mr Uzor, was allegedly contacting victims; Felix Okpoh – Romance
Fraud – allegedly provided financial materials and technological tools to Mr
Uzor.
Nnamdi Benson –
Romance Fraud and money laundering; and Abiola Kayode – BEC and Romance Fraud –
allegedly provided bank accounts to individuals involved in the scheme.
“Cybercriminals prey
on vulnerable Americans and small businesses to deceive and defraud them,” said
the secretary Mr Mnuchin. “As technological advancement increasingly offers
malicious actors tools that can be used for online attacks and schemes, the
United States will continue to protect and defend at-risk Americans and
businesses.”
The secretary
included the terms of the sanctions placed on the six Nigerians in his
statement.
“Today’s action
includes the designation of six individuals pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.)
13694, as amended by E.O. 13757, which targets malicious cyber-enabled activities,
including those related to the significant misappropriation of funds or
economic resources for private financial gain.
“As a result of
today’s action, all property and interests in property of the designated
persons that are in the possession or control of U.S. persons or within or
transiting the United States are blocked, and U.S. persons generally are
prohibited from dealing with them,” read the statement.
The statement did
not indicate the bases of the six persons, nor any information about their
arrest.
The alleged
fraudulent acts were committed between between 2015 and 2017, according to the
statement.
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