Six Nigerians have been placed on the most-wanted list of the Federal Bureau of Investigation for alleged Internet fraud that cost Americans $6.3m in losses.
This was disclosed on the website of the FBI as well as a statement signed by the United States treasury secretary, Steven Mnuchin.
The six Nigerians – Richard Uzuh, Micheal Olorunyomi, Alex Ogunshakin, Felix Okpoh, Abiola Kayode and Nnamdi Benson – were accused of perpetrating romance scams and Business Email Compromise otherwise known as BEC.
The statement read in part, “Today, in a coordinated action with the US Department of Justice, the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control took action against six Nigerian nationals for conducting an elaborate scheme to steal over $6m from victims across the US.
“The individuals designated today targeted US businesses and individuals through deceptive global threats known as Business Email Compromise and romance fraud. American citizens lost over $6,000,000 due to these individuals’ BEC fraud schemes, in which they impersonated business executives and requested and received wire transfers from legitimate business accounts.
“Money was also stolen from innocent Americans by romance fraud, in which the designees masqueraded as affectionate partners to gain trust from victims.”