A Nigerian national has been sentenced to 10 years in the USA for his involvement in a cyber fraud scheme that resulted in the theft of almost $20 million. Babatunde Francis Ali, a 33-year-old individual who had previously lived in the UK, pleaded guilty to the charges and received his sentence this week.
Ali, along with two accomplices named Faceisayo Ogunsansvo and Yusuf Lasisi, orchestrated a scheme targeting business emails known as Business Email Compromise (BEC), specifically focusing on real estate transactions in the United States. The criminals sent phishing emails to employees of real estate agencies, lawyers, and companies involved in real estate transactions, gaining access to accounting data to monitor and intercept reports of upcoming transfers. They would then send fake payment details to customers on behalf of the companies, diverting funds to their own accounts.
Out of more than 400 victims, 231 individuals were unable to recover the money that was transferred to the attackers’ accounts, resulting in a total loss of $19,599,969.46. Many victims, who had used their savings to purchase homes, expressed feelings of shame and depression after losing their money.
The court documents revealed instances where victims had lost sums exceeding $100,000. The stolen funds were used by the criminals to purchase bitcoins via Coinbase, which were subsequently transferred to three different addresses. One of the victims was a real estate transactions company based in Alabama.
While Ali has been sentenced, his accomplices Ogunsansvo and Lasisi remain at large. Ogunsansvo reportedly spent $40,000 of the stolen funds at a Louis Vuitton store in Dubai.
Nigeria has frequently made headlines for cybercriminal activities originating from the country. In September 2023, another Nigerian national was extradited to the USA for his involvement in a BEC fraud scheme. The individual faces a maximum sentence of 20 years for conspiracy to commit fraud and money laundering. In a separate case, a Nigerian citizen was arrested for BEC fraud, resulting in a charitable organization in the USA losing over $7.5 million.