A US federal jury has convicted three people for their roles in a large international email hacking and fraud operation that defrauded more than 1,000 victims of about $215 million.
The defendants — Oluwafemi Michael Awoyemi, Aruan Drake, and Peter Reed — were found guilty after a four-day trial in the US District Court in Ohio. The court also said Awoyemi and Drake were convicted on additional charges of money laundering conspiracy.
According to court records, the scheme operated across 47 US states and 19 countries, targeting individuals, businesses, and organisations through carefully coordinated email compromise attacks.
Prosecutors said the group’s method was simple but highly effective: they hacked into email accounts, monitored conversations, and studied how victims communicated in business settings. With that information, they impersonated trusted contacts and sent convincing fake payment requests.
Because the emails closely matched real business dealings, many victims were tricked into transferring large sums of money — in some cases running into millions of dollars. One business alone reportedly sent about $2.7 million to a shell company controlled by members of the network.
Once the money was received, it was quickly moved through a web of fake accounts and transfer systems to hide its origin. Authorities said about $50 million was converted into cashier’s checks, while other funds were laundered through various financial channels.
The investigation also uncovered luxury assets linked to the operation, including high-value watches, cryptocurrency holdings, and a residential property in Georgia.
Alongside the three convicted defendants, 25 others have already pleaded guilty to related charges, including wire fraud and money laundering conspiracy. Those involved include US citizens as well as individuals identified as Nigerian and Ghanaian nationals.
Prosecutors say the fraud network had international reach, with victims not only in the United States but also in countries such as Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, Kuwait, the UAE, and Australia.
Authorities describe the case as one of the more extensive email fraud conspiracies in recent years, both in scale and in the number of countries affected.
