Two Nigerians based in the United States, Chijioke Timothy Odimegwu and Harafat Mogaji, have been sentenced to a combined 189 months in federal prison for their roles in an international cyber fraud scheme that cost businesses more than $2.4 million.
Odimegwu and Mogaji, who lived in Delaware and were serving in the US Air Force at the time of the offences, were sentenced on September 25, 2026, following their convictions.
The sentences were announced by David Waterman, US Attorney for the Southern District of Iowa, in a statement issued by the district’s Public Information Officer, MacKenzie Tubbs.
According to the statement, the duo and other conspirators in the US and abroad targeted businesses across the country for nearly two years through email spamming and phishing campaigns.
The group stole usernames and passwords from employees’ email accounts and used them to facilitate fraudulent wire transfers. They also created spoofed email addresses resembling those of victims and their business partners, tricking companies into sending legitimate payments to bank accounts controlled by the conspiracy.
Tubbs said Odimegwu and Mogaji diverted more than $1.68 million sent by a victim in Iowa City, Iowa, to a bank account in Chicago controlled by the group. They also diverted over $720,000 sent by a victim in Ohio.
“These are in addition to many other attempts Odimegwu and Mogaji made to divert wire transfers made by businesses in Iowa and across the country,” Tubbs said.
The defendants also harvested victims’ financial information during the campaigns, including bank account numbers, personal identification numbers, and credit and debit card details. The stolen data included credit card details belonging to a non-profit organisation in Pella, Iowa.
The statement added that the pair bought stolen financial information from co-conspirators, traded it among themselves, and tried to use it for unauthorised transactions and purchases.
Odimegwu was sentenced to 111 months in prison and ordered to pay $366,617.59 in restitution, while Mogaji got 78 months and was ordered to pay $995,680.45 in restitution.
Both men were taken into custody after sentencing. On completing their prison terms, each will serve three years of supervised release.
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