International
$5.3m fraud: US hunts scammers, traces funds to Hong Kong, Nigeria, others
$5.3m fraud: US hunts scammers, traces funds to Hong Kong, Nigeria, others
The US government has filed a civil forfeiture action to recover $5.3 million linked to a business email compromise (BEC) scheme that defrauded a Massachusetts workers union.
In January 2023, a spoofed email led the union to transfer $6.4 million to a fraudulent account.
The funds were then routed through various international banks and cryptocurrency exchanges.
US authorities have seized money from seven domestic accounts connected to the scheme.
These were stated in a Wednesday press release obtained from the United States Attorney’s Office, District of Massachusets website on Thursday.
“BEC fraud schemes present a serious threat to businesses and individuals nationwide, causing significant financial and emotional harm to victims by exploiting trusted communication channels they rely upon every day.
“Today’s civil forfeiture action demonstrates that when victims report such misconduct to the authorities there may be steps we can take to recover stolen funds.
“We hope today’s action helps restore some level of stability and justice for those impacted by fraud,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Joshua S. Levy.
READ ALSO:
- NDLEA apprehends intending Hajj pilgrims with cocaine in Lagos hotel
- FG debunks N5.4trn provision for subsidy payments
- Customs intercept pangolin scales worth N3.9bn in Kebbi
Issued in Boston, the statement also admonished that “members of the public who believe they are victims of a cybercrime – including cryptocurrency scams, romance scams, investment scams and business email compromise (BEC) fraud scams – should contact USAMA.CyberTip@usdoj.gov.”
According to the press release, the fraudulently obtained funds were then transferred through a series of intermediary bank accounts, with some funds transferred, or attempted to be transferred, to a cryptocurrency exchange or various bank accounts located in Hong Kong, China, Singapore, and Nigeria.
“The United States filed a civil forfeiture action today to recover approximately $5,315,746 alleged to be proceeds of a business email compromise (BEC) scheme targeting a Massachusetts workers union, as well as property involved in money laundering.
“The complaint alleges that in January 2023, a workers union located in Dorchester received an email requesting a change of payment information from someone it believed worked at an investment consulting firm.
“The complaint also alleges that the email came from what initially appeared to be the consulting firm’s true email address but was in fact a spoofed email address that had been changed by one letter. The spoofed email instructed the workers’ union to make a $6,400,000 transfer to a different bank account than had been previously arranged, which the workers union did, in fact, do.
READ ALSO:
- Man jailed 14 years for attempted sexual assault on minor
- Cooking gas price crashes after ban on exportation
- Banditry: Police arrest Zamfara lawmaker, district head, ex-LG chairman
“The spoofed email, however, was a fraudulent communication intended to mislead the workers union into unwittingly transferring funds to an account controlled by someone other than the intended recipient.
The fraudulently obtained funds were then allegedly transferred through a series of intermediary bank accounts – with some funds sent or attempted to be sent, to a cryptocurrency exchange and various bank accounts located in Hong Kong, China, Singapore and Nigeria.
“Investigators were able to trace proceeds of the scheme to seven domestically held bank accounts, the contents of which were subsequently seized by U.S. authorities,” it read.
PUNCH Online reports that this announcement implies that the US government is taking legal action to recover funds allegedly obtained through fraudulent means.
It involves cooperation between various law enforcement agencies and prosecutors to pursue the case.
The statement also highlights the legal process involved in civil forfeiture, indicating that the government must provide evidence to prove its case before any forfeiture can be ordered by the court.
Other parts of the statement read, “Acting U.S. Attorney Levy; Acting Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; and Andrew Murphy, Special Agent in Charge of the United States Secret Service, Boston Field Office made the announcement today.
“The civil forfeiture action is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Lyons of the Asset Recovery Unit along with Trial Attorneys Jasmin Salehi Fashami and Adrienne E. Rosen of the Justice Department’s Money Laundering & Asset Recovery Section.
$5.3m fraud: US hunts scammers, traces funds to Hong Kong, Nigeria, others
International
Six Palestinians killed as Israeli forces pound southern, northern Gaza
Six Palestinians killed as Israeli forces pound southern, northern Gaza
At least six Palestinians have been killed in Gaza’s southern city of Rafah, according to the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS), and several homes have been destroyed as Israeli forces pushed deeper into the city and pressed further into Shujayea in northern Gaza.
Israeli tanks, which re-entered Shujayea four days ago, fired shells towards several houses, leaving families trapped inside and unable to leave, residents said.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) estimated that “60,000 to 80,000 people were displaced” from Shujayea in recent days.
For those who remain, “our lives have become hell”, said 50-year-old resident Siham al-Shawa.
She told the AFP news agency that people were trapped as strikes could happen “anywhere” and “it is difficult to get out of the neighbourhood under fire”.
“We do not know where to go to protect ourselves,” she said.
Al Jazeera’s Tareq Abu Azzoum, reporting from Deir el-Balah, said residents who managed to flee the neighbourhood say the scale of destruction is “massive”.
International
One killed, five injured in France wedding attack
One killed, five injured in France wedding attack
One person was killed and five others sustained gunshot wounds in northeastern France when several masked gunmen opened fire at a wedding ceremony, police sources said on Sunday.
According to sources, the incident in the northeastern city of Thionville was the result of a drug trafficking dispute.
According to an AFP report, the shooting took place overnight, from Saturday to Sunday, in a reception hall with approximately 100 individuals present.
Two people were gravely injured, and one was in critical condition.
The perpetrators of the shooting, however, fled the scene.
READ ALSO:
- Auto assemblers seek N100bn intervention fund for vehicle acquisition
- Rain wreaks havoc in Yobe, 3 dead, 50 houses destroyed
- Ondo, Ekiti face two months of power outage
“It was during a wedding,” a police source said.
“At a quarter past one in the morning, a group of people went outside to smoke in front of the hall, and then three heavily armed men arrived and opened fire in their direction.”
According to the informant, the intruders arrived in a 4×4 vehicle, “probably a BMW.” It was unclear where the vehicle had come from.
Thionville is located near the borders of Luxembourg and Germany. Law enforcement officials suspect that the violence was motivated by a desire to settle scores related to narcotics trafficking.
“The wedding was not targeted as such; it was people who were at the wedding,” a source told me.
On Sunday morning, a bullet-pierced glass door was seen at the scene. In the nearby village of Villerupt, five individuals were injured in May 2023 during shootings between rival gangs at a drug distribution site.
One killed, five injured in France wedding attack
International
Serbian officer shot with crossbow outside Israeli embassy
Serbian officer shot with crossbow outside Israeli embassy
A police officer has been injured in a crossbow attack outside the Israeli embassy in the Serbian capital, Belgrade.
Interior Minister Ivica Dacic told reporters that the officer had subsequently shot and killed the assailant.
The attacker – who authorities say was Serbian – hit the policeman in the neck with an arrow, Mr Dacic said. The officer, Milos Jevremovic, underwent surgery and is no longer in a serious condition, authorities have said.
Officials have described the assailant as a Muslim convert and classified the attack as “terrorist” in nature.
Mr Dacic said the attacker had approached a small building at the front of the Israeli embassy several times around 11:00 (09:00 GMT), purportedly asking about a museum.
He then opened the door to the small building, removed a crossbow from a bag and shot the officer, Mr Dacic said. The officer then returned fire and the assailant died about half an hour later.
Serbian authorities named the attacker as Milos Zujovic, who was born in 1999 in the town of Mladenovac, around 30 miles (48km) from the capital, before moving to Novi Pazar – the cultural centre of the Bosniak Muslim minority.
They said that after converting to Islam, he went by the “religious name” Salahudin.
The Israeli foreign ministry said the embassy had been closed at the time of the incident and that no employees had been injured.
Mr Dacic said the case had been taken over by special prosecutors, who had subsequently declared the incident a “terrorist act”.
As a result, he had increased Serbia’s threat level to red – initiating a greater police presence around potential targets, as well as searches of locations where plotting is suspected.
READ ALSO:
- Hamas says no news on truce deal as tens of thousands of Israelis protest
- Release Nnamdi Kanu now, Peter Obi urges FG
- NFVCB warns filmmakers against promoting same-sex, pornography
Earlier in the day, Mr Dacic said that several individuals had been arrested as a precautionary measure.
While the interior minister suggested the attack may have been part of a larger threat, Serbian Prime Minister Milos Vucevic called it “a crime of an individual”.
In comments quoted by the Beta news agency, he described the incident as “an act of insanity, which cannot be attributed to any religion and any nation”.
Mr Vucevic urged the public to “remain calm and not succumb to propaganda” that might encourage hate crimes.
Both the prime minister and interior minister characterised the incident as a “terrorist act”.
Mr Dacic’s office later said that Igor Despotovic, also born in 1999, from Belgrade, had been arrested after allegedly being found to have had “daily communication” with Zujovic. It also said Despotovic was arrested two years ago for running online extremist groups, in a case that is ongoing.
Serbian authorities said police were still searching for another person believed to harbour the same views as Zujovic, who may take several days to locate and arrest.
President Aleksandar Vucic told reporters that there were “several more persons that we are looking for”, according to news agency AFP.
Mr Dacic said on Saturday afternoon that police operations were ongoing in several locations across the country.
Israeli ambassador to Serbia Yahel Vilan wrote on X/Twitter that he was “deeply shocked” by the attack, and thanked Mr Jevremovic, “who courageously prevented the attack”.
Meanwhile, Serbia’s top Islamic cleric, Senad Halitovic, condemned the attack. According to AFP, he said: “Such crimes are against all religious teachings, especially the teachings of Islam. Today’s crime is the work of a mindless individual.”
The incident in Belgrade is not the first time someone has seemingly attempted to attack an Israeli embassy since 7 October, when Hamas carried out an unprecedented attack on southern Israel, and Israel launched a campaign to destroy Hamas in Gaza.
After visiting Mr Jevremovic in hospital, Mr Vucic said that he was conscious and would be honoured for his actions as soon as he is discharged.
Serbian officer shot with crossbow outside Israeli embassy
-
metro2 days ago
Court stops Soun of Ogbomoso from removing Chief Imam
-
Education3 days ago
JUST IN: JAMB releases UTME supplementary results
-
News3 days ago
Tenure of FCT council chairmen will expire in 2026 – INEC
-
News3 days ago
Some private jets used for money laundering, drug trafficking – Keyamo
-
metro3 days ago
I lost over N10m to Abuja market fire, trader laments
-
International2 days ago
Iran threatens Israel over ‘planned attack’ on Lebanon
-
metro3 days ago
Tale of woes in Abuja market after fire outbreak
-
News2 days ago
Olubadan: Makinde to present staff of office to Olakulehin, July 12