The US government filed a lawsuit to recover $5.3 million connected to an email fraud that deceived businesses and specifically targeted a workers union in Massachusetts.
On Wednesday, the Justice Department filed a civil forfeiture case to recover property linked to the money laundering of about $5,315,746.29 that was allegedly obtained through a corporate email fraud.
A workers union in Dorchester, Massachusetts, suffered a $6.4 million loss in January 2023 as a result of obtaining a phony email from their investment manager. They were told in the email to update the payment’s bank account.
In a press release posted on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office on Wednesday, it was said that money from seven domestic accounts linked to the scheme had been seized by US authorities. The funds were then transferred through various foreign banks and cryptocurrency exchanges.
According to report, some of the money was sent to a cryptocurrency exchange and several bank accounts situated in Hong Kong, China, Singapore, and Nigeria.
The fraudulently obtained cash was then allegedly transferred through a number of intermediate bank accounts.
The revenues of the fraud were linked by investigators to seven domestic bank accounts, the contents of which were later taken into custody by American authorities.
What they’re saying
“BEC fraud schemes pose a tremendous threat to individuals and businesses across the country, taking advantage of reliable communication channels that victims use on a daily basis to cause severe emotional and financial harm to victims.
“Today’s civil forfeiture case demonstrates that if victims report such misbehavior to the authorities, there may be steps we can take to recover stolen funds.
According to Acting U.S. Attorney Joshua S. Levy, “We hope that today’s action helps restore some level of justice and stability for those who have been affected by fraud.”
Final word
The public was urged in the statement to “contact USAMA.CyberTip@usdoj.gov if they are victims of a cybercrime, including business email compromise (BEC) fraud scams, cryptocurrency scams, romance scams, and investment scams.”
