iStock illustration

A Medfield man will spend more than two years in prison for an international business email compromise scheme that defrauded companies of almost $900,000 and a romance fraud scheme that defrauded victims of at least $7,000.

Paul M. Iwuanyanwu, 41, was sentenced in Boston federal court last week to 30 months in prison and two years of supervised release, according to a statement from the U.S. attorney’s office. Iwuanyanwu had pleaded guilty in October to wire fraud, mail fraud, conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud and unlawful monetary transactions. The government seized more than $800,000 in connection with the BEC scheme, and the court ordered that money to be forfeited, the statement said.

According to the statement, Iwuanyanwu participated in a BEC scheme that breached the email systems of companies and installed unauthorized computer programs that diverted company emails to accounts controlled by Iwuanyanwu and his co-conspirators. All emails sent by or to the companies were first routed through the email accounts set up as part of the scheme, the statement said, letting the co-conspirators view and respond to the messages as if they were representatives of the companies.

Iwuanyanwu and others used this unauthorized access to cause the companies to redirect more than $850,000 in payments intended for legitimate business operations to bank accounts he and others controlled, according to the statement.

As part of the romance fraud, the statement said, Iwuanyanwu participated in a scheme that used fraudulent online relationships to persuade victims to send money to Iwuanyanwu and others or to receive money on Iwuanyanwu and other’s behalf. Victims wired at least $6,000 to accounts controlled by Iwuanyanwu and others and sent at least $1,000 via money orders to Iwuanyanwu.

Medfield Man Sentenced in BEC Scheme

by Banker & Tradesman time to read: 1 min
0