Two Ex-Military Service Members Sentenced to Prison for Operating Multi-Million Dollar Email Fraud Scheme Targeting US Businesses

Two former Air Force members were sentenced to a combined 189 months in federal prison for operating business email compromise and phishing campaigns that defrauded US companies of millions of dollars. The defendants stole employee email credentials through phishing, then used spoofed email addresses to redirect wire transfers, including one fraudulent transfer of $1.68 million from an Iowa City victim and another of $720,000 from an Ohio victim to accounts they controlled. They also harvested financial information and purchased stolen data from co-conspirators to conduct unauthorized transactions and identity theft.

The two defendants executed a coordinated fraud operation spanning nearly two years that combined multiple attack vectors. Beyond the headline wire diversions, their scheme involved systematically harvesting sensitive financial data—including account numbers, PINs, and credit card information—which they then leveraged for unauthorized transactions. The defendants also purchased compromised data from additional co-conspirators, expanding their victim pool and revenue streams across state lines and international borders.

The sentencing disparity between the two men reflects differing levels of culpability and restitution obligations. Odimegwu received the longer 111-month sentence and faces a smaller restitution amount of approximately $366,000, while Mogaji's 78-month term pairs with substantially higher restitution of roughly $995,000—suggesting his role encompassed greater direct financial harm to victims.