Obinwanne Okeke, popularly known as Invictus Obi who was accused of defrauding an American citizen of $11million has finally been sentenced to 10 years jail term. Okeke defrauded an American of $11million through internet fraud and was arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) while trying to board a plane at Dulles International Airport.
The Chief District Judge of Eastern Virginia, Rebecca Smith, delivered the judgment on Monday.
According to the Judge, the 33yrs old Okeke earned the jail term for involving in internet fraud that resulted in known losses to the tune of $11miullion by his victim.
In her statement, “Through subterfuge and impersonation, Obinwanne Okeke engaged in a multi-year global business email and computer hacking scheme that caused a staggering $11 million in losses to his victims,” Raj Parekh, acting US attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, said.
“Today’s sentence further demonstrates EDVA’s and FBI’s worldwide reach in vigorously pursuing justice on behalf of American victims and others and holding international cybercriminals accountable, no matter where they commit their crimes.”
According to the exhibit available to the court, Okeke claimed to have been operating a group of companies named “Invictus Group” based in Nigeria and elsewhere.
Subsequently, Okeke and his accomplices involved in an email compromise and attacked targeting Unatrac Holdings Limited, the export sales office for Caterpillar's heavy industrial and agricultural machines.
In April 2018, a Unatrac executive fell prey to a phishing email that allowed conspirators to capture login credentials. The conspirators sent fraudulent wire transfer requests and attached fake invoices.
Okeke participated in the effort to victimize Unatrac through fraudulent wire transfers totaling nearly $11 million, funds that were transferred overseas.
The fraudster Obi was once listed by Forbes as one of the upcoming 100 most influential Young Africans.
