A federal court in Portland, Oregon, has charged Efeturi Ariawhorai and Ikenna Nwajiaku, two Nigerian nationals, for stealing $6.2 million from 15 public and private organisations in the United States.
The United States Department of Justice released a statement containing the charges on Monday.
Ariawhorai, also known as Efeturi Simeon, is a 35-year-old dual citizen of Nigeria and Vanuatu. The DOJ believes Ariawhorai most recently resided in the United Arab Emirates. Nwajiaku is 41 years old and he lives around Lagos.
Both men have been charged in an 11-count indictment with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud and aggravated identity theft.
The DOJ has said that both Ariawhorai and Nwajiaku are fugitives. Although Italian authorities arrested Ariawhorai on November 25, 2021, he fled house arrest before the US completed his extradition to the District of Oregon.
“Beginning in June 2019 and continuing until January 2021, Ariawhorai and Nwajiaku conspired with one another and others known and unknown to defraud various public and private entities located throughout the U.S., including numerous school districts, universities, colleges, and hospitals,” the DOJ statement read in part.
“As part of their scheme, Ariawhorai and Nwajiaku would contact organizations by email; impersonate employees of the targeted organization or professionals from other entities doing business with the target organization, such as construction companies; and convince the organizations to send payments to bank accounts controlled by third parties acting on Ariawhorai and Nwajiaku’s behalf.”
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