Nigerian National Appears On Charges Relating To Computer Hacking Scheme That Targeted Government Employees

NEWARK, N.J. - A Nigerian national extradited from Canada will appear in court today for his alleged role in a scheme that defrauded vendors of office products valued at nearly $1 million by “phishing” e-mail login information from government employees, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.

Olumide Ogunremi, a/k/a “Tony Williams,” was charged by indictment on Sept. 28, 2018, with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. He was extradited to the District of New Jersey on Sept. 26, 2019, and appeared today before U.S. District Judge Susan D. Wigenton in Newark federal court, where he pleaded not guilty and was detained without bail.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

From July 2013 through December 2013, Ogunremi and other conspirators perpetrated a computer hacking and theft scheme targeting United States government agencies’ email systems and Government Services Administration (GSA) vendors. The ring employed “phishing” attacks, which used fraudulent e-mails and websites that mimicked the legitimate e-mails and web pages of U.S. government agencies, such as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Unwitting employees of those agencies visited the fake web pages and provided their e-mail account usernames and passwords.

Ogunremi and his conspirators used these stolen credentials to access the employees’ e-mail accounts in order to place fraudulent orders for office products, typically printer toner cartridges, from vendors who were authorized to do business with U.S. government agencies. Ogunremi and his conspirators directed the vendors to ship the fraudulent orders to individuals in New Jersey and elsewhere to be repackaged and ultimately shipped to other locations overseas, which were controlled by Ogunremi and his conspirators. Once the orders were received in Nigeria, Ogunremi and his conspirators sold the toner cartridges to another individual on the black market for profit.

On June 10, 2014, Abiodun Adejohn, a/k/a “James Williams,” 30, of Nigeria, pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud conspiracy, and was later sentenced to three years in prison.

The wire fraud conspiracy carries a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison and a maximum $250,000 fine.

U.S. Attorney Carpenito praised special agents of the EPA-OIG, under the direction of Thomas Muskett; General Services Administration OIG, under the direction of SAC Jamie Willemin; Department of Commerce OIG, under the direction of SAC Duane Townsend; Department of Defense Cyber Field Office, under the direction of SAC Jeffery Thorpe; and the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Gregory W. Ehrie in Newark, with the investigation leading to Ogunremi’s arrest.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sophie E. Reiter, of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Public Protection Unit in Newark.

Defense counsel: John McGovern Esq., Newark

Roseville Couple Operating Dark Web Vendor Account “Dankstix” Plead Guilty

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Xavier Alexander Speropoulos, 25, and Lauren Crowe, 20, both of Roseville, pleaded guilty today to illegal use of a cellphone in furtherance of a drug crime, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.

According to court documents, from Oct. 2017 through Jan. 22, 2019, when they were arrested, the defendants operated the vendor account “Dankstix” on Dream Market, a dark web marketplace. Through the Dankstix vendor account, the defendants illegally sold marijuana to customers throughout the United States in exchange for cryptocurrency.

This case is the product of an investigation by the Northern California Illicit Digital Economy Task Force (NCIDE), composed of agents from Homeland Security Investigations, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the IRS Criminal Investigation. The NCIDE Task Force is a joint, federal task force focused on targeting all forms of dark-web and cryptocurrency activity in the Eastern District of California. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Grant B. Rabenn and Paul Hemesath are prosecuting the cases.

Speropoulos and Crowe are scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Troy L. Nunley on Jan. 16, 2020. Both defendants face a maximum statutory penalty of four years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.

Record Attendance at Cybersecurity Roundtable, 100+ Business, Tech, Law Enforcement Leaders Participate

Columbus — Leaders from several of west Georgia’s largest companies discussed the most pressing cybersecurity threats facing businesses at a roundtable meeting held in Columbus, Georgia on Friday. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Georgia (USAO MDGA) and the Columbus Chapter of the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA) organized a joint Cybersecurity Roundtable, a half-day event on September 27, 2019 featuring presentations from law enforcement agencies that fight cybercrimes as well as opportunities for key leaders within these organizations to speak frankly about the threats they face. This was the first IIA Columbus Chapter Cybersecurity Roundtable, and the largest attendance ever at an IIAColumbus Chapter meeting.

“Cybercrime is on the rise in the United States and in the Middle District of Georgia. Our office is committed to working with our business community and law enforcement to identify, arrest and prosecute cybercriminals, wherever they are. The first step in fighting cybercrime is to educate businesses, individuals and law enforcement on the landscape of threats, how to prevent an incident and how to best respond to threats,” said Charlie Peeler, the U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Georgia. “I want to thank the Columbus Chapter of the Institute of Internal Auditors and the Columbus business community for their support in this important conference. Working together, we can better protect our citizens and businesses from cybercrime."

“The IIA Columbus Chapter was proud to partner with the U.S. Attorney’s Office to present the Cybersecurity Roundtable in Columbus. As evidenced by our record attendance of over 100 people, cybersecurity is a key risk to businesses in Columbus and important topic of interest to the IIA Columbus Chapter,” said Matt Jones, President, IIA Columbus Chapter. “The IIA Columbus Chapter would like to thank U.S. Attorney Peeler and his office for all of their hard work in preparation for the conference and for providing the subject matter experts for the cybersecurity conference.”

Industry experts and business leaders joined law enforcement experts from the FBI, Secret Service, Georgia Bureau of Investigation’s Georgia Cyber Crime Center (G3C), and the Department of Justice’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section at the Cybersecurity Roundtable. Questions can be directed to Pamela Lightsey, Public Information Officer, United States Attorney’s Office, at (478) 621-2603 or Melissa Hodges, Public Affairs Director (Contractor), United States Attorney’s Office, at (478) 765-2362.