Two Delaware Air Force Members Sentenced for International Multi-Million Dollar Cyber Scheme
DELAWARE – Two former members of the United States Air Force have been sentenced for their role in an international cyber intrusion scheme worth millions.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Southern District of Iowa, on Sept. 25, 25-year-old Chijioke Timothy Odimegwu and 26-year-old Harafat Mogaji, both of Delaware, were sentenced to a combined 189 months in federal prison. After completing their prison terms, Odimegwu and Mogaji will each serve a three-year term on supervised release.
According to evidence presented at sentencing, for nearly two years, Odimegwu and Mogaji, both of whom were members of the United States Air Force at the time, attacked business victims across the United States with email “spamming” and phishing campaigns to steal usernames and passwords for victims’ business email accounts. They, alongside unnamed co-conspirators, then used these stolen credentials, along with “spoofed” email addresses, to communicate with their victims and redirect payments.
Prosecutors said Odimegwu and Mogaji worked with co-conspirators both in the United States and abroad, fraudulently diverting a more than $1.68 million wire sent by a victim located in Iowa City, Iowa, to a bank account in Chicago controlled by the conspiracy. They also diverted a more than $720,000 wire sent by an Ohio victim to a similarly controlled bank account. However, court documents indicated these are just a few of the attempts Odimegwu and Mogaji made to divert wire transfers made by businesses across the country.
As part of their spamming and phishing campaigns, the two men also harvested financial information from victims, such as financial account numbers, personal information, and credit and debit card numbers–including credit card information for an Iowa-based non-profit. Documents show they went on to purchase similar stolen information from their co-conspirators. Odimegwu and Mogaji would then use the stolen information to make and attempt financial transactions without their victims’ knowledge or authorization, exchanging this information with one another, and attempting to make subsequent purchases.
“Criminals from all backgrounds attack our digital systems,” said Eugene Kowel, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Omaha Field Office. “They strike targets from corporate networks to personal smart phones. No one and no device is immune from the threat.”
Odimegwu was sentenced to a term of imprisonment of 111 months and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $366,617.59. Mogaji was sentenced to a term of imprisonment of 78 months and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $995,680.45. Both were taken into custody following sentencing.
