Posted by Samuel on Thu 06th Jun, 2024 - tori.ng
The Justice Department, on Wednesday, initiated a civil forfeiture action to reclaim about $5,315,746.29 in funds believed to be from a business email scam, along with property associated with the laundering of these proceeds.
The US government has taken legal action to seize $5.3 million tied to a business email scam that targeted a workers union in Massachusetts.
The Justice Department, on Wednesday, initiated a civil forfeiture action to reclaim about $5,315,746.29 in funds believed to be from a business email scam, along with property associated with the laundering of these proceeds.
In January 2023, a workers union in Dorchester, Massachusetts, lost $6.4 million after receiving a fake email from their investment manager. The email instructed them to change the bank account for the payment.
The funds were then moved through different international banks and cryptocurrency exchanges.
In a press release published on the United States Attorney’s Office, District of Massachusetts website on Wednesday, it stated that the US authorities have seized money from seven domestic accounts connected to the scheme.
It reads: “The fraudulently-obtained funds were then allegedly transferred through a series of intermediary bank accounts – with some funds sent, or attempted to be sent, to a cryptocurrency exchange and various bank accounts located in Hong Kong, China, Singapore and Nigeria.
“Investigators were able to trace proceeds of the scheme to seven domestically held bank accounts, the contents of which were subsequently seized by U.S. authorities.
“BEC fraud schemes present a serious threat to businesses and individuals nationwide, causing significant financial and emotional harm to victims by exploiting trusted communication channels they rely upon every day.
“Today’s civil forfeiture action demonstrates that when victims report such misconduct to the authorities there may be steps we can take to recover stolen funds.
“We hope today’s action helps restore some level of stability and justice for those impacted by fraud,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Joshua S. Levy.”
The statement also urged “Members of the public who believe they are victims of a cybercrime – including cryptocurrency scams, romance scams, investment scams and business email compromise (BEC) fraud scams – should contact USAMA.CyberTip@usdoj.gov.”