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Richmond, Va. – A United Kingdom citizen pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud after being extradited from the United Kingdom at the request of the United States.
According to court documents, Olabanji Iginola, 43, of London, England, participated in a cyber-enabled business email compromise (BEC) fraud scheme targeting Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU). A BEC scheme, also known as “cyber-enabled financial fraud,” is a sophisticated scam that targets employees of a business or organization who regularly make large wire transfer payments. Using technological methods and social engineering techniques, BEC conspirators impersonate an employee with a company that has an ongoing contract with the victim. BEC conspirators then trick employees of the victim organization into switching bank accounts for future transactions to bank accounts that the conspirators control or have access to.
As part of his guilty plea, Iginiola admitted to impersonating “Rachel Moore,” an employee of Kjellstrom + Lee Construction Co. of Richmond, which has an ongoing construction project with VCU. From September 2018 to December 2018, over the course of several emails, Egbinola tricked VCU into switching bank accounts for Kjellstrom + Lee for upcoming payments. On December 20, 2018, a payment intended for Kjellstrom + Lee in the amount of $469,819.44 was transferred from a bank account controlled by VCU to a Bank of Hope account in Los Angeles, California. The money earned is very little.
Iginnola is scheduled to be sentenced on February 13, 2023. He faces a maximum of 20 years in prison. Actual penalties for federal crimes are less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge determines any sentence after considering the US Sentencing Guidelines and other legal factors.
Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Stanley M. Meador, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Richmond Division, U.S. District Judge David J. Novak announced after accepting the petition.
The Richmond FBI Cyber Task Force conducted the investigation with the assistance of the FBI Cyber Division, the FBI Criminal Division, the Justice Bureau’s Office of International Affairs, and the FBI Legal Attaché’s London office. The UK authorities have also been very helpful.
The Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs worked with law enforcement partners in the United Kingdom to secure Iginiola’s arrest and extradition to the United States.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian Hood is prosecuting the case.
A copy of this press release is available on the website of the US Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are available on the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia website or on PACER by searching for case number 3:22-cr-124.
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