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-intrusion scheme that defrauded businesses of more than $2.4 million.
The US Attorney for the Southern District of Iowa, David Waterman, announced the sentences, according to a statement issued by the district’s Public Information Officer, MacKenzie Tubbs, on Tuesday.
Tubbs said the two defendants, who were residents of Delaware, were sentenced on September 25, 2026, after being convicted for their roles in the scheme.
According to the statement, Odimegwu and Mogaji were serving in the US Air Force when they and their co-conspirators 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 and subsequently used the stolen credentials to facilitate fraudulent transactions.
They also allegedly used spoofed email addresses designed to mimic those of victims or their business partners to communicate with businesses and redirect payments to bank accounts controlled by members of the conspiracy.
Tubbs said Odimegwu and Mogaji, working with co-conspirators in the US and abroad, fraudulently diverted more than $1.68 million in a wire transfer from a victim in Iowa City, Iowa, to a bank account in Chicago controlled by the conspiracy.
They also diverted more than $720,000 sent by a victim in Ohio to an account controlled by the conspiracy, she said.
‘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 were also accused of harvesting financial information from victims during their spamming and phishing campaigns.
The stolen information allegedly included financial account numbers, personal identification numbers, credit and debit card numbers and other financial details.
Tubbs said the stolen information included credit card details belonging to a non-profit organisation in Pella, Iowa.
According to her, the defendants also purchased stolen financial information from their co-conspirators and exchanged the information among themselves.
‘They would then use the stolen information to make and attempt financial transactions without their victims’ knowledge or authorisation,’ she said.
Tubbs added that the defendants attempted to use the stolen information to make purchases involving victims across the country.
Odimegwu was sentenced to 111 months in prison and ordered to pay $366,617.59 in restitution.
Mogaji received a 78-month prison sentence and was ordered to pay $995,680.45 in restitution.
Both defendants were taken into custody following sentencing.
After serving their prison terms, Odimegwu and Mogaji will each be placed on three years of supervised release.