Solomon Ekunke Okpe, a Nigerian, was given a four-year prison term in the US for his involvement in online fraud schemes that defrauded banks and US citizens of up to $1 million in losses.
After being detained in Malaysia and extradited to the US to stand trial, the 31-year-old was given the penitentiary sentence.
In announcing the sentencing, the US Department of Justice stated that between 2011 and 2017, Okpe and his cohorts “devised and executed business email compromise (BEC), work-from-home, check-cashing, romance, and credit card schemes.”
Individuals, banks, and companies in the US and other countries were among the targeted victims of email phishing attacks intended to steal login credentials and “other sensitive information,” according to Infosecurity magazine.
The scams were “intended to cause more than $1 million in losses to US victims,” according to the DoJ, though it is unclear if the cyber-fraud gang was successful in their evil scheme.
Financial companies cited by the DoJ as victims include First American Holding Company and MidFirst Bank.
Okpe now joins his fellow gang member, Johnson Uke Obogo, behind bars.
Obogo was sentenced on March 20 to a year and a day in jail for his role in the schemes, a substantially lighter punishment than Okpe’s.
