Two men living in Tennessee and Germany have been charged by the federal government for defrauding Fresno County.
They impersonated a local nonprofit to get over $1.5 million transferred to their bank account.
The big picture: A federal grand jury charged Jafaar September Nyangoro, 52, and Peter Bah Acha, 45, with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and wire fraud.
- Nyangoro lives in Franklin Tennessee, while Acha is from Berlin, Germany.
Driving the news: Nyangoro, Acha and others gained control of an email account that was used by the finance director of a Fresno nonprofit in September 2020.
- They used the email to submit fraudulent invoices to Fresno County for payment through Automated Clearing House (ACH) transactions. They posed as the finance director and fraudulently represented that the nonprofit’s bank account information had changed and that the payments should actually go to Nyangoro’s account.
- From Sep. 24, 2020, to Oct. 13, 2020, Fresno County initiated several ACH transfers that totaled over $1.5 million to Nyangoro’s bank account, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
Zoom in: The Department of Justice said Nyangoro, Acha and others communicated on WhatsApp and by other means.
- On Oct. 16, 2020, after Regions Bank reversed some ACH transfers for suspected fraud, Nyangoro sent the following message: “We’re in deep s___. The last 3 transactions from County of Fresno have been reversed. Please call me ASAP!”
Fresno County’s response: Fresno County said on Thursday that it paid the fraudulent account around $1.67 million in total.
- The Auditor-Controller/Treasurer-Tax Collector’s Office (ACTTC) was able to reverse and recover around $112,000 when the fraud was discovered. The county also had around $875,000 covered by insurance.
- The county said the federal government has not said if it seized any funds that may be reimbursed to the county.
- “While this case was not the result of any cybersecurity failures within the County, the County has strengthened its security by establishing the Office of Information Security who reports to the County Administrative Officer,” the county wrote in a statement. “This office continues to enhance cybersecurity by centralizing risk management, policy development, and incident response while ensuring collaboration with departments.”
What we’re watching: Nyangoro was ordered to be detained by a magistrate judge in Nashville on Thursday and will make an appearance in Fresno at a later date.
- If connected, Nyangoro and Acha face a maximum of 20 years in prison and a fine up to $250,000 for each count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and wire fraud.
