Decatur woman sentenced for role in $158,000 email scam targeting agriculture business, AG says
A Decatur woman has been sentenced to prison in connection with an email scam that stole more than $150,000 from an agricultural company.
Ogechi Urenna Udunka, 44, pleaded guilty to two counts of theft by taking and two counts of money laundering in Gwinnett County Superior Court last week.
According to prosecutors, Udunka was charged for taking part in a business email compromise scam, a targeted scheme in which a criminal sends a message that seems to be coming from a legitimate business source, but actually is designed to take payments without providing anything in return.
Officials say the scam in this case targeted an agricultural company that thought it was paying an Oregon company for strawberry seeds. Shortly after making the deal, the company received a request for payment from an email address that appeared to be extremely similar to the Oregon company's, but was actually fraudulent.
In all, authorities say Udunka received $158,000 from two separate wire transfers from the company on June 15, 2021, and June 30, 2021. She was then accused of making multiple financial transactions designed to conceal where the money came from, disbursing the funds to herself and others involved in the scheme.
After Udunka's guilty plea, a judge sentenced her under the First Offender Act to 10 years, with the first 90 days to be served in prison and the remainder on probation.
"Our White Collar and Cyber Crime Unit is leading the fight against cyber-enabled fraud – protecting businesses and consumers," Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr said. "This is a growing threat, and it's why we have continued to pursue those who are moving stolen funds so we can stop a scam in its tracks. We also know that education is key, and we would encourage all Georgians to learn how to recognize and report online fraud so you can better protect your data, network and devices."
If you believe you have fallen victim to a cyber fraud scheme, officials say you should file a report with the appropriate financial provider, your local law enforcement agency, and the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3).
