A Georgia woman has been sentenced for her role in a business email compromise scam that cost an agricultural company $158,000 as it attempted to purchase strawberry seeds.
Ogechi Urenna Udunka, 44, of Decatur, pleaded to two counts each of Theft by Taking and Money Laundering, according to the Georgia Attorney General’s Office.
A Gwinnett County Superior Court judge sentenced Udunka under the First Offender Act to 10 years, including 90 days in prison with the remainder to be served on probation. She was also ordered to pay full restitution and complete 200 hours of community service.
The case dates to June 2021, when an agricultural company was working with an Oregon company to purchase strawberry seeds.
According to prosecutors, the agricultural company received a payment request from an email address that looked nearly identical to the address used by the Oregon company. The request was fraudulent.
The company sent two wire transfers totaling $158,000 on June 15 and June 30, 2021. Udunka received the money, which prosecutors said was proceeds from a business email compromise scam carried out by an unknown person or people.
After receiving the funds, Udunka made several financial transactions intended to conceal where the money came from and distributed the stolen proceeds to herself and others, according to the Attorney General’s Office.
Business email scams remain costly
“Our White Collar and Cyber Crime Unit is leading the fight against cyber-enabled fraud — protecting businesses and consumers,” Carr said. “This is a growing threat, and it’s why we have continued to pursue those who are moving stolen funds so we can stop a scam in its tracks. We also know that education is key, and we would encourage all Georgians to learn how to recognize and report online fraud so you can better protect your data, network and devices.”
Business email compromise scams typically involve fraudulent emails designed to appear as though they came from a legitimate source, often requesting a payment or wire transfer. According to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center, these scams resulted in more than $3 billion in reported losses last year.
Businesses that believe they have been targeted by cyber fraud are encouraged to contact their financial institution, local law enforcement, and the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center.
This article was prepared with the assistance of automated tools and human research and verified by our editorial team.
