Nine People Charged in Money Laundering Scam that Stole Millions from Businesses
Federal prosecutors have charged nine people in a scheme to launder money from a business email compromise scheme.
Misha L. Cooper, 50, of Murfreesboro, Tenn.; Robert A. Cooper, 66, of Murfreesboro; Samson A. Omoniyi, 43, of Houston, Texas; Carlesha L. Perry, 36, of Houston; Whitney D. Bardley, 30, of Florissant, Mo.; Lauren O. Guidry, 32 of Houston; Caira Y. Osby, 44 of Houston; Dazai S. Harris, 34 of Murfreesboro; and Edward D. Peebles, 35, of Murfreesboro, all face charges of conspiracy to engage in money laundering, according to a Justice Department press release.
The defendants were arrested in a multi-jurisdictional takedown, each facing up to 20 years in prison. They were part of a sophisticated money laundering organization that had operated across the country since 2016.
The Anatomy of a Money Laundering Ring
The money laundering ring was structured with recruiters or “herders” and “money mules,” according to the indictment.
Herders recruited money mules to assist in laundering money using various bank accounts belonging to the mules, who moved the money through U.S. and foreign banks using wire transfers, cashier’s checks and peer-to-peer payments.
Authorities uncovered 10 different sham or front companies and 33 different bank accounts involved in the scheme that were either controlled by the defendants or their money mules, according to prosecutors. The defendants and their co-conspirators then allegedly made cash or cashier’s check withdrawals and gave the money to others, who would then deposit the cash in their accounts in an attempt to conceal the source of the funds.
The laundered money was allegedly the proceeds of “business email compromise” (BEC) schemes that stole $20 million from unsuspecting businesses.
What is a Business Email Compromise Scam?
A BEC is a fraud that targets companies that use wire transactions to conduct business. Scammers will attempt to access the email addresses of employees of the target company who are typically involved in paying invoices and other financial transactions. Once they have gained access, scammers will look for pending wire transfers and then redirect the funds into a different account.
In another variation of the scheme, BEC fraudsters use spoofed emails to submit fraudulent invoices that victim businesses then pay, thinking the requests are legitimate.
Their victim companies in this case were located across the U.S. as well as France, Bolivia and Canada.
The Toll of BEC Schemes
BEC scams cost U.S. Businesses hundreds of millions of dollars every year, according to the FBI.
Between January 2014 and October 2019, the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) received complaints that totaled $2.1 billion in realized losses. IC3 has found that the losses associated with BEC scams have been growing yearly since they started keeping track in 2013. Reports of BEC scams have been filed in all 50 states and 177 different countries. Here are some things the FBI recommends you do to protect you or your business from BEC scams:
- Enable multi-factor authentication for email accounts
- Verify payment changes and transactions in person or with a known phone number
- Educate your employees about BEC scams, how to respond to potential compromises, and how to identify phishing emails
To find out more or report potential BEC schemes, visit the FBI’s Internet Crime Center here.
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