Scammers used nonprofit email for $1.5M in fake charges to Fresno County, DOJ says
A Tennessee man pleaded guilty on Monday to an attempt to commit $1.5 million in wire fraud on Fresno County with the help of a man in Germany, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
Jafaar September Nyangoro, 53, of Franklin, Tennessee, entered the guilty plea in a Fresno court for the scheme that lasted a couple of months in September and October 2020, according to prosecutors. The other five charges would be dismissed as part of a plea deal, according to court records.
Nyangoro and Peter Bah Acha, 45, of Berlin, Germany, were named in a six-count indictment that included conspiracy to commit wire fraud and wire fraud related to the scheme that secretly gained control of an email account used by the finance director of a Fresno nonprofit. They used it to submit fraudulent invoices to Fresno County for payment through “automated clearing house” transactions, prosecutors said.
Nyangoro’s attorney declined to comment on Monday.
Fresno County was able to recover $112,000 after the fraud was discovered, a county’s spokesperson previously said. About $875,000 was covered by the county’s insurance. The county has since implemented new processes in an attempt to prevent future fraud and staffers also attended new training, the spokesperson previously said.
The scammers fraudulently represented themselves as the nonprofit, routing payments to an account held by Nyangoro, according to prosecutors. The county changed the bank account information over to the fraudulent one used in the scam upon request from fraudsters.
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!”
Nyangoro is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Jennifer L. Thurston on Sept. 21. He faces a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in prison and a fine up to $250,000 as well as restitution.
His plea agreement also says “it is virtually certain” Nyangoro will be removed from the country because he is not a citizen.
The co-defendant Bah Acha had not been arrested, and his fate remained unclear, according to Lauren Horwood, the attorney’s office spokesperson.
