By Daily Trust
The Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) has filed a 16-count indictment against Kingsley Inegbedion and Efemena Igbe for allegations of Internet fraud and money laundering totaling $1.5 million.
According to the indictment submitted on May 14 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, Inegbedion and Igbe were involved in romance scams and business email compromises, posing as legitimate businesses to defraud unsuspecting American citizens between April 2020 and May 2023. Mr. Inegbedion, a network engineer known for running training programs for aspiring tech workers in Atlanta, had previous encounters with law enforcement.
The fraudulent activities involved several banks, including HSBC, Citi Bank, and Navy Federal Credit Union. The FBI reported that the entities used in the scheme did not have physical locations, earn legitimate income, or pay any wages to employees.
Victims were directed to wire money to accounts that appeared legitimate, with the fraudsters quickly transferring the funds into other accounts both domestically and internationally to hide the fraud.
In specific instances, $50,120 was withdrawn from Camtech’s Navy Federal account in February 2021, and another $60,000 was withdrawn in June 2021 from a different account under Kingtech Global Auto. Additional fraudulent transactions included a $160,000 cashier’s check purchased from Kingtech’s Truist account in September 2022.
The two suspects also collaborated with unknown individuals who guided victims to pay into their fraudulent accounts via emails and other methods. Mr. Igbe fled to Nigeria after being invited for questioning by security agents, leaving Mr. Inegbedion to face the charges.
The FBI is seeking restitution of the stolen funds and forfeiture of property acquired through the fraudulent scheme. Should they be convicted, both defendants will be required to forfeit any property involved in the offense, including a money judgment that represents the total amount of property associated with the charges.