.jpg)
United States Attorney Gretchen C.F. Shappert for the District of the Virgin Islands announced Tuesday that Marvellous Eghaghe was arrested in Houston, Texas in connection with international wire fraud and money laundering schemes.
According to the indictment filed in the case, Eghaghe created a Texas company and an associated bank account that he used to funnel money fraudulently obtained from victims in the U.S. Virgin Islands, Alabama, Texas and Colombia.
Part of the scheme involved “spoofing,” in which perpetrators intrude upon victims’ business email communications by setting up an email address similar to that of one of the legitimate participants, thereby diverting money transfers to unknown subjects inside and outside of the United States. The indictment also alleges that in another instance, co-conspirators forged over $2 million in checks from the account of an unsuspecting business.
In June 2019, the V.I. Water and Power Authority said in a statement it had fallen victim to what is referred to as a Business Email Compromise (BEC), an instance where a fictitious email appears authentic. These incidents, WAPA said, resulted in payments totaling $2.17 million being authorized and sent to an apparent legitimate vendor — but the vendor was not legitimate at all; it was a scam, said the authority. The U.S. Attorney's Office did not say whether the WAPA incident was related to the case involving Eghaghe.
This case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Nathan Brooks.
An indictment is merely a formal charging document, and it is not evidence of guilt. Every defendant is presumed innocent until and unless found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Advertisements
