A United States court has sentenced a Nigerian national, James Junior Aliyu, to 90 months in federal prison for his involvement in a large-scale wire fraud and money laundering conspiracy linked to business email hacking.
The sentencing was announced by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which disclosed that Aliyu played a key role in a Business Email Compromise (BEC) scheme that targeted companies and individuals.
According to investigators, the scheme involved illegally gaining access to corporate email systems and sending fraudulent wire transfer instructions to unsuspecting victims. The attackers used spoofed email accounts to deceive businesses into transferring funds into bank accounts controlled by the criminal network.
Authorities revealed that Aliyu was extradited from South Africa to the United States to face prosecution. In addition to his prison sentence, the court ordered the forfeiture of $1.2 million and imposed $2.4 million in restitution to compensate victims of the fraud. He is also expected to be deported after completing his sentence.
The case was prosecuted in the District of Maryland, where Kelly O. Hayes announced the conviction alongside Evan Campanella. Officials said the case highlights the growing global threat posed by cyber-enabled financial crimes.
Court documents revealed that a federal grand jury first indicted Aliyu and two other suspects in June 2019. The indictment, which was later unsealed in July 2022, charged them with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering after their arrests outside the United States.
Investigators found that between February and July 2017, the criminal syndicate infiltrated several email accounts belonging to businesses and individuals. Once access was obtained, the group manipulated ongoing financial communications and redirected payments to accounts under their control.
The United States Department of Justice said the intended financial loss from the scheme exceeded $4.1 million, while the actual confirmed loss to victims was at least $1.57 million.
Law enforcement authorities noted that the case involved international cooperation among investigators in the United States, South Africa, and other jurisdictions to dismantle the cybercrime network.
Officials say the conviction sends a strong message that perpetrators of cyber-enabled fraud will be pursued across borders and held accountable under the law
