Nigerian international fraudster, Obinwanne Okeke, also known as Invictus, has been sentenced to 10 years in prison by a Virginia Court in the US for defrauding Americans of $11m.
Okeke was sentenced on Tuesday by Chief District Judge, Rebecca Smith, for his involvement in a ‘computer-based intrusion fraud scheme that caused approximately $11m in known losses to his victims’, according to the prosecutors.
The lead prosecutor, Raj Parekh, acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, said of the verdict:
Through subterfuge and impersonation, Obinwanne Okeke engaged in a multi-year global business email and computer hacking scheme that caused a staggering $11 million in losses to his victims.
“Today’s sentence further demonstrates EDVA’s and FBI’s worldwide reach in vigorously pursuing justice on behalf of American victims and others and holding international cybercriminals accountable, no matter where they commit their crimes.”
According to court documents, the 33-year-old Okeke and others had, between 2015 to 2019, engaged in a conspiracy to conduct various computer-based frauds.
The syndicate obtained and compiled the credentials of hundreds of victims, including victims in the Eastern District of Virginia.
As part of the scheme, they engaged in an email compromise scheme targeting Unatrac Holding Limited, the export sales office for Caterpillar heavy industrial and farm equipment.
In April 2018, a Unatrac executive fell prey to a phishing email that allowed the syndicate to capture login credentials.
They then sent fraudulent wire transfer requests and attached fake invoices.
Okeke participated in the effort to victimise Unatrac through fraudulent wire transfers totaling nearly $11m which was transferred overseas.
Okeke was also said to have engaged in other forms of cyberfraud, including sending phishing emails to capture email credentials, creating fraudulent web pages, and causing other losses to numerous victims.
Okeke was at one time, listed on the Forbes 30 under 30 category for his business exploits and described as an inspiration to Nigerian youths.
