U.S authorities said eight people have been arrested for their alleged
roles in an Africa-based cyber conspiracy that U.S. law enforcement
officials say defrauded companies and citizens of millions of dollars.
Five of the defendants – a Mexican, two Americans, a Ghanaian and a
Nigerian – were arrested in the U.S., the Justice Department said.
The other three – two Ghanaians and a Nigerian – were arrested outside
the U.S. and were being held pending extradition.
The arrests were made as part of the department’s efforts to fight
schemes to intercept wire transfers from businesses and individuals.
The Acting Assistant Attorney-General John Cronan, “The defendants
allegedly unleashed a barrage of international fraud schemes that
targeted US businesses and individuals, robbing them to the tune of
approximately 15 million dollars.”
The indictment includes charges related to wire fraud, money
laundering, computer fraud and identity fraud. And some of the
Africa-based defendants are also charged with operating romance scams,
fraudulent-check scams, gold-buying scams and credit card scams.
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