From Forbes to Jail; Obinwanne Okeke Sentenced to Prison for $11 Million Global Fraud Scheme

Obinwanne Okeke was on Tuesday sentenced in the United States to 10 years in prison for his involvement in a computer-based intrusion fraud scheme that caused approximately $11 million in known losses to his victims.

Mr Okeke is also known as Invictus Obi.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia provided details of the court judgment early Wednesday morning.

According to court documents, Mr Okeke, 33, operated a group of companies known as the Invictus Group based in Nigeria and elsewhere.

From approximately 2015 to 2019, Okeke and others engaged in a conspiracy to conduct various computer-based frauds, prosecutors said.

The conspirators obtained and compiled the credentials of hundreds of victims, including victims in the Eastern District of Virginia.

As part of the scheme, Mr Okeke and other conspirators engaged in an email compromise scheme targeting Unatrac Holding Limited, the export sales office for Caterpillar heavy industrial and farm equipment. In April 2018, a Unatrac executive fell prey to a phishing email that allowed conspirators to capture login credentials.

The conspirators sent fraudulent wire transfer requests and attached fake invoices. Mr Okeke participated in the effort to victimize Unatrac through fraudulent wire transfers totalling nearly $11 million, which was transferred overseas.

Additionally, Mr Okeke engaged in other forms of cyber fraud, including sending phishing emails to capture email credentials, creating fraudulent web pages, and causing other losses to numerous victims.

“The FBI will not allow cybercriminals free reign in the digital world to prey on U.S. companies,” said Brian Dugan, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Norfolk Field Office.

Mr Okeke, before his arrest by the Federal Bureau of Investigations in August 2019, was listed as one of the influential young entrepreneurs recognised by Forbes.

He was nabbed by the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) which alleged that he connived with some individuals, some of whom remained at large, to defraud American companies and individuals over a period of at least four years.

– Premium Times