Two Nigerians bag 189 months for $2.4m US cyber fraud

Two Nigerians resident 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 fraud scheme that defrauded businesses of more than $2.4 million.

The two men, who were residents of Delaware and members of the US Air Force at the time of the offences, were sentenced on September 25, 2026, following their convictions.

US Attorney for the Southern District of Iowa, David Waterman, announced the sentences in a statement issued by the district’s Public Information Officer, MacKenzie Tubbs.

According to the statement, obtained by Punch, Odimegwu and Mogaji, alongside other conspirators in the US and abroad, targeted businesses across the country for nearly two years through email spamming and phishing campaigns.

The conspirators allegedly used the campaigns to steal usernames and passwords from employees’ email accounts, which they subsequently used to facilitate fraudulent wire transfers.

They also allegedly created spoofed email addresses resembling those of victims and their business partners to deceive businesses into redirecting legitimate payments to bank accounts controlled by the conspiracy.

Tubbs said Odimegwu and Mogaji were involved in diverting more than $1.68 million transferred by a victim in Iowa City, Iowa, to a bank account in Chicago controlled by the conspiracy.

The pair also diverted more than $720,000 sent by a victim in Ohio to an account controlled by the group.

“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,” Tubbs said.

The defendants also harvested financial information from victims during the phishing and spamming campaigns, including bank account numbers, personal identification numbers and credit and debit card details.

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

Tubbs said the defendants also purchased stolen financial information from their co-conspirators, exchanged the information among themselves and attempted to use it to conduct unauthorised financial transactions and make purchases.

Odimegwu was sentenced to 111 months in federal prison and ordered to pay $366,617.59 in restitution.

Mogaji was sentenced to 78 months in prison and ordered to pay $995,680.45 in restitution.

Both men were taken into custody following sentencing.

After completing their prison terms, Odimegwu and Mogaji will each serve three years of supervised release, according to the US Attorney’s Office.