Two U.S.-Based Nigerians Sentenced In $2.4M Cyber Fraud Case

Two Nigerians based in the United States, Chijioke Timothy Odimegwu and Harafat Mogaji, have been sentenced to a combined 189 months in federal prison for their roles in an international cyber intrusion scheme that defrauded businesses of more than $2.4m.

The US Department of Justice disclosed this in a statement issued by the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa, saying the two men were sentenced on September 25, 2026.

Odimegwu, 25, was sentenced to 111 months in prison and ordered to pay $366,617.59 in restitution, while Mogaji, 26, received 78 months and was ordered to pay $995,680.45 in restitution.

Both men were residents of Delaware and members of the US Air Force when they carried out the scheme with other conspirators, according to court documents and evidence presented at sentencing.

Prosecutors said the men spent nearly two years using email spamming and phishing campaigns to steal usernames and passwords from employees’ email accounts.

The stolen credentials were then used alongside spoofed email addresses to impersonate businesses or their partners and redirect legitimate wire payments to bank accounts controlled by the conspiracy.

Working with co-conspirators in the US and abroad, Odimegwu and Mogaji diverted more than $1.68m in a wire transfer sent by a victim in Iowa City to an account in Chicago controlled by the conspiracy.

They also diverted more than $720,000 sent by an Ohio victim, with prosecutors saying these transactions were among several other attempts to redirect payments made by businesses in Iowa and across the US.

The pair also obtained financial information from victims, including bank account details, personal identification numbers, credit card and debit card information.

Prosecutors said they used some of the stolen information to make unauthorised financial transactions and purchases, while also exchanging the information with one another and obtaining additional stolen data from co-conspirators.

The stolen financial information included credit card details belonging to a non-profit organisation in Pella, Iowa.

Both men were taken into custody after sentencing and will each serve three years of supervised release after completing their prison terms.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), with assistance from the US Air Force Office of Special Investigations.