A man arrested by U.S. Marshals in Broward County on Wednesday has been implicated in a multi-million-dollar scheme that targeted businesses in South Florida and around the globe by compromising their email systems, according to a federal indictment made public on Friday.
Kelvin Nkwantabisa, 31, of Atlanta, who is also known by the aliases “Kevin Brown” and “KO,” is currently being held in the Broward Main Jail as he faces six federal charges. These include conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
Additional suspects in the case, which is being prosecuted in the Southern District of Florida, include Justice Amoh, also known as “Samuel Andrews,” from The Bronx, New York; John Jouissance, of Canal Winchester, Ohio; and Leshea Moore, known as “Deborah Green,” from Acworth, Georgia. The federal indictment also refers to unnamed co-conspirators.
The indictment details how the co-conspirators compromised the email accounts of victims’ businesses to monitor and intercept emails, particularly those discussing wire transfer payments. They impersonated legitimate business partners and sent emails containing false and fraudulent requests for payment and wire instructions, misleading victims into transferring money into bank accounts controlled by the group.
Prosecutors have identified five victims of the scheme—ranging from a corporation in Coral Springs, Florida, to companies in Suffolk, England, and an investor in Auckland, New Zealand. Collectively, these entities wired over $7 million to bank accounts managed by the defendants and their co-conspirators.
The group allegedly opened shell companies and corresponding bank accounts to receive the stolen funds. The fraudulent activities reportedly took place from August 2022 to March 2024, with the Coral Springs company alone suffering losses exceeding $1.3 million due to the scheme.
Nkwantabisa appeared in federal court in Fort Lauderdale on Thursday, and he is set for an arraignment and detention hearing before a magistrate judge next Thursday. Local 10 News has reached out to his attorney, Miami criminal defense lawyer Sherri Romano, for comments on the case.
Amoh and Jouissance were also apprehended in New York and Ohio, respectively, earlier this week. Moore, however, was not in custody as of Friday. All the suspects face potential decades in federal prison if convicted.