OMAHA, Neb. (AP) - Federal prosecutors have announced fraud charges against six Nigerian men accused of scamming two Nebraska businesses and two Nebraska residents and attempting to steal more than $6 million.
The men, who are not in custody, were indicted at different times in 2016 and 2019, but their indictments were under seal until this week, the U.S. Attorney General for Nebraska said in a news release Tuesday.
Investigators said the men are accused of scams that included posing as company executives - using those executives' emails in a fraud called "spoofing" - to order company employees to wire company money for a business purpose. Another scam involved starting online romances with victims, who were then asked to wire money to the scammers' bank accounts.
Two Nebraska businesses lost about $1 million, prosecutors said, and two people were persuaded to send nearly $500,000 to the scammers.