Scammers hit Fresno County for $1.5M in fake charges. They were indicted
Two men from out of state were indicted Thursday for attempting to scam Fresno County out of $1.5 million in 2020 — a scheme similar to one that hit the city of Fresno the same year.
Jafaar September Nyangoro, 52, of Franklin, Tennessee, and Peter Bah Acha, 45, of Berlin, Germany, were named in the six-count indictment that included conspiracy to commit wire fraud and wire fraud related to a scheme, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a news release.
Fresno County was able to recover $112,000 after the fraud was discovered, according to Sonja Dosti, the county’s spokesperson. About $875,000 was covered by the county’s insurance.
Dosti said the county has implemented new processes in an attempt to prevent future fraud. Staffers from across the county also attended new training, she said.
The men were accused of secretly gaining access to the email account of a finance director of a local nonprofit sometime before Sept. 14, 2020, prosecutors said.
The account was used to submit fake invoices to Fresno County for payment through an “automated clearing house,” according to prosecutors. The county changed the bank account information over to the fraudulent one used in the scam upon request from fraudsters.
For about a month between September and October of 2020, the county transferred the $1.5 million to the fake account, prosecutors said.
The accused men communicated through WhatsApp, an encrypted messaging app. Prosecutors allege that after the bank reversed some of the clearing house charges on Oct. 16, 2020, Nyangoro sent a message that said, “We’re in deep sh**. The last 3 transactions from County of Fresno have been reversed. Please call me ASAP!”
The city of Fresno fell for a $613,737 hustle in 2020, but the mistakes of the city did not come to light until The Bee broke the story of the phishing scam in 2022.
For the county case, Nyangoro appeared in court in Nashville, and was set to appear in Fresno at a later date.
It was not clear on Thursday if Bah Acha, the German defendant, would be extradited, according to an attorney’s office spokesperson.
Each defendant faces a a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in prison and a fine up to $250,000 for each count.
This story was originally published May 15, 2025 at 4:35 PM.
