Phishing, Spoofed Emails, $2.4M Stolen: Two Nigerians Get 189 Months in US Prison

Two Nigerians in the US, Chijioke Odimegwu and Harafat Mogaji, get 189 months in prison and restitution over a $2.4M phishing and wire-fraud scheme.

Two Nigerian nationals living in the United States have been sentenced to a combined 189 months in federal prison for an international cyber fraud scheme that cost businesses more than $2.4 million.

Chijioke Timothy Odimegwu, 25, and Harafat Mogaji, 26, both Delaware residents and U.S. Air Force members at the time of the offences, were sentenced on September 25, 2026, in the Southern District of Iowa.

For nearly two years, the pair and co-conspirators in the U.S. and abroad ran email spam and phishing campaigns that harvested usernames and passwords from company employees. They then created spoofed email addresses mimicking victims and their business partners to trick firms into redirecting legitimate payments into accounts the group controlled.

More than $1.68 million sent by an Iowa City business was diverted to a Chicago account, and over $720,000 from an Ohio victim was stolen the same way. Bank details, PINs and card data were also harvested, including card details belonging to a non-profit in Pella, Iowa.

Odimegwu got 111 months and $366,617.59 restitution; Mogaji got 78 months and $995,680.45. Each will serve three years of supervised release.