Nigerian Fraudster Arrested: Mastermind Behind $7.5M BEC Scam

A Nigerian citizen was apprehended in Ghana for orchestrating a sophisticated fraud scheme involving Business Email Compromise (BEC), which led to a U.S. charity organization incurring losses exceeding $7.5 million.

Olusegun Samson Adejorin was detained on December 29, facing allegations of defrauding two charitable organizations based in Maryland and New York. He is accused of perpetrating email fraud, identity theft, and unauthorized access to a protected computer.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Adejorin’s elaborate scheme spanned from June to August 2020 and entailed unauthorized access to email accounts and impersonation of organization employees.

Masquerading as an employee of one of the charities (Victim 2), Adejorin solicited large sums from another organization (Victim 1), which provided investment services to Victim 2. For transactions exceeding $10,000, Adejorin utilized stolen credentials to send emails in the guise of employees responsible for confirming these transactions.

As part of his fraudulent operation, Adejorin also acquired a tool for pilfering email credentials, registered counterfeit domain names, and cunningly concealed his deceptive emails from legitimate employees by rerouting them to inconspicuous sections of their mailboxes. Consequently, he successfully duped Victim 1 into transferring $7.5 million into his bank accounts, while the organization believed the funds were being sent to a legitimate charity.

Adejorin faces a maximum penalty of 20 years for email fraud, 5 years for unauthorized access to a protected computer, and 2 years for identity theft. The U.S. Department of Justice also notes that the sentence may be extended by 7 years for registering and using a domain name with fraudulent intent.