US SECRET SERVICE HAS ARRESTED A 29-YEAR-OLD NIGERIAN FOR ALLEGED $6 MILLION FRAUD

According to a statement issued by the United States Attorney's Office for the District of Maryland on Thursday, April 13, 2023, Ebo and others are being accused in three wire fraud counts totaling $6,343,533.10 million dollars.

"Three Nigerian Nationals Facing Federal Charges Related to a Fraud Scheme With Losses of More Than $6 Million."

The first of three defendants, Kosi Simon Ebo, 29, has been extradited from Canada to the United States to face a federal indictment. He is scheduled to appear in U.S. District Court in Greenbelt on Friday, April 14, 2023, at 3:30 p.m. before U.S. Magistrate Judge Amjel Quereshi.

A federal grand jury returned an indictment charging Simon-Ebo, James Junior Aliyu, a/k/a "Old Soldier" and "Ghost," both 28 years old, and Henry Onyedikachi Echefu, 31, both Nigerian citizens living in South Africa, with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering, as well as wire fraud and money laundering charges related to a business email compromise ("BEC") scheme that resulted in losses of more than $6 million. The indictment was returned on June 24, 2019, and will be unsealed on July 6, 2022, if the defendants are apprehended outside the United States.

"The indictment was announced by Erek L. Barron, United States Attorney for the District of Maryland; Special Agent in Charge James C. Harris of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Baltimore; and Special Agent in Charge Matthew R. Stohler of the U.S. Secret Service - Washington Field Office.

"According to the seven-count indictment, from February 2016 until at least July 2017, the defendants conspired with others to perpetrate a BEC scheme. Specifically, the indictment alleges that the defendants and their co-conspirators, including co-conspirators residing in Maryland, gained unauthorized access to email accounts associated with individuals and businesses targeted by the conspirators."