Two Nigerian men sentenced to 15 years imprisonment for $2.4m cyber fraud scheme in US

Two Nigerian men, Chijioke Timothy Odimegwu, and Harafat Mogaji, have been sentenced to a combined 189 months in federal prison for international cyber fraud scheme that targeted businesses and nonprofits, including victims in Iowa, United States.

 

The United States Attorney David C. Waterman of the Southern District of Iowa made the announcement in a statement issued by the Department of Justice on Tuesday, September 29, 2026.

 

Odimegwu, 25, and Mogaji, 26, were sentenced on Friday, September 25, 2026. 

 

According to public documents and 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’ employee email accounts.

 

They and their co-conspirators then used these stolen credentials, along with “spoofed” email addresses mimicking emails associated with the victim or its business partners, to communicate with their victims and redirect payments to and from the victims’ trusted business partners to accounts controlled by the defendants’ co-conspirators.

 

Working with co-conspirators both in the United States and abroad, Odimegwu and Mogaji fraudulently diverted a more than $1.68 million wire sent by a victim 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 a victim in Ohio to a bank account controlled by the conspiracy. 

 

These are in addition to many other attempts Odimegwu and Mogaji made to divert wire transfers made by businesses in Iowa and across the country.

 

As part of their spamming and phishing campaigns, Odimegwu and Mogaji also harvested financial information from victims, such as financial account numbers and information, personal identification numbers, and credit and debit card numbers, including credit card information for a victim non-profit located in Pella, Iowa. 

 

They also purchased similar stolen information from their co-conspirators. They would then use the stolen information to make and attempt financial transactions without their victims’ knowledge or authorization. 

 

They exchanged this information with one another and attempted to make purchases using that information stolen from other victims across the country.

 

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. 

 

After completing their prison terms, Odimegwu and Mogaji will each serve a three-year term on supervised release.

 

“When cyber intrusion schemes target businesses and nonprofits in our communities, we will aggressively surge resources to protect the American people and their life savings,” said Eugene Kowel, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Omaha Field Office. 

 

“Criminals from all backgrounds attack our digital systems. They strike targets from corporate networks to personal smart phones. No one and no device is immune from the threat. This case demonstrates that we will hold accountable cybercriminals who target our communities. It also serves as a reminder that every organization and every individual should take steps to protect their devices and systems and learn how to recognize and avoid scams. FBI Omaha will continue working with our local, state, and federal partners in the fight to dismantle and disrupt cyber enabled schemes.”

 

The Federal Bureau of Investigation investigated the case with assistance from the Air Force Office of Special Investigations. Assistant United States Attorney Joseph Lubben prosecuted the case.

 

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