Two men have been convicted of revenue laundering in a business email compromise scheme. USAO-EDVA

ALEXANDRIA, Virginia – A federal jury yesterday found two individuals guilty of money laundering as part of a business email compromise (BEC) scheme.

Onyewuchi Victor Ibeh, 33, of Mitchellville, Maryland, and Jason Eugene Joyner, 42, of Hyattville, Maryland, laundered the proceeds of the BEC scheme, according to court records and evidence presented at the trial. participated in the plan. In this scheme, the co-conspirators infiltrate the victim’s computer systems, including email servers and email accounts, through phishing attacks or the use of malware. Once there, the co-conspirator impersonates the victim’s business partner and claims that the business his partner’s bank account information has been changed. The victim company intended to send the money to a business partner, but instead sent it to a bank account controlled by the co-conspirators.

Defendants and their co-conspirators laundered over $13 million fraudulently obtained from a number of victim companies, including five who testified at trial as a result of the scheme. The co-conspirators used dozens of bank accounts that they directly and indirectly control to launder the proceeds of the scheme through various financial transactions. Joyner’s role in the scheme was to withdraw the proceeds of the fraud in cash, which he passed on to other co-conspirators, including Ibeh.His Ibeh role in this scheme was to open bank accounts for the co-conspirators. It was to control money laundering by allowing He used it to send money domestically and internationally. Ibeh spent the proceeds of the scam on luxury items, including nearly $40,000 of his custom jewelry.

Ibeh and Joyner conspired with Anthony Ayeah and Mouaaz Elkhebri, among others, and both were convicted of conspiracy to launder money.

Ibeh and Joyner were convicted of money laundering and conspiracy to launder money. Ibeh and Joyner each face up to 20 years in prison when their sentences are handed down on November 4, 2022. A federal district court judge will make a decision after considering the US Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. Michael Ray, Cyber ​​Crime and National Security Inspector for the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. Matthew Stoller, a special agent in charge of the Washington Field Office of the U.S. Secret Service, made the announcement after Senior U.S. District Judge Claude M. Hilton accepted the verdict.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Hood, Assistant U.S. Attorney Russell Carlberg, and Special Assistant Elizabeth Bagwell are prosecuting the case.

A copy of this press release can be found on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Relevant court documents and information can be found on the website of the Eastern District of Virginia District Court or by searching Case No. 1:21-cr-200 on PACER.