Tobechi Onwuhara Indictment
Tobechi Onwuhara Indictment
Tobechi Onwuhara Indictment
FILED
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE tN OPEN COURT
Forfeiture Notice:
18 U.S.C. § 982(a)(2)(A)
(Criminal Forfeiture)
INDICTMENT
INTRODUCTION
1. United States Senate Federal Credit Union ("USSFCU") and State Department
Federal Credit Union ("SDFCU") were "Financial Institutions" as defined by Title 18, United
States Code, Section 20, located in Alexandria, Virginia, which is in the Eastern District of
Virginia.
defined by Title 18, United States Code, Section 20, located in Beaverton, Oregon.
3. Defendant TOBECHI ONWUHARA ("ONWUHARA") resided in the Dallas,
Texas and Miami, Florida areas.
9. The above introductory allegations are re-alleged and incorporated in each count
of this Indictment as though fully set out in eachcount.
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Count One
(Continuing Financial Crimes Enterprise)
I. Introduction
10. Defendant ONWUHARA organized, managed, and supervised a group ofat least
four previously-indicted and unindicted co-conspirators whose identities are known and
unknown to the Grand Jury, within a twenty-four month period who engaged in a multi-national
scheme designed to defraud financial institutions by stealing the identities of U.S. account
holders of home equity lines of credit ("HELOCs"), and using those stolen identities to execute
and attempt to execute a series of wire transfers of funds totaling more than $5 million from the
victims' HELOC accounts and into bank accounts controlled by co-conspirators without the
knowledge or consent of the true account holders.
11. Beginning no later than May 2007 and continuing through at least inor about
August 1,2008, in the Eastern Districtof Virginia and elsewhere, Defendant ONWUHARA
unlawfully and willfully organized, managed, and supervised a series of violations under section
1344 ofTitle 18 ofthe United States Code, committed by atleast four persons working in
concert and received $5,000,000 or more in gross receipts from such enterprise during any 24-
month period inviolation ofTitle 18, United States Code, Section 225 (Continuing Financial
Crimes Enterprise).
12. It was part ofthe enterprise that ONWUHARA and other co-conspirators carried
out their fraudulent scheme by first identifying individuals who held HELOC accounts. To
account holders from direct marketing services, including ListSource™, which provides sales-
leadlists for mortgage and home equity financial products. Defendants and other previously-
social security numbers, password clue information, and signature exemplars for victims from a
variety of sources, including online sources, and through pre-textual calls to financial institutions,
13. It wasa further partof the enterprise thai, once provided with a list of potential
target HELOC account holders, one or more co-conspirators obtained unauthorized access to
victim HELOC account holders' credit reports from the web site www.AnnualCreditReport.com.
One or more co-conspirators would use pre-paid cellularbroadband Internet accesscards when
obtaining unauthorized access to victim account holders' credit reports. Once they accessed a
target account holder's credit report, one or more co-conspirators would harvest details about a
target account holder's loan balances and other financial and personal information, which they
would use to impersonate account holders when calling victim financial institutions.
14. It was a further part of the enterprise that ONWUHARA, MATTHEWS, OBILO,
service contacts at target financial institutions and impersonated the targeted individual HELOC
account holders. To create the false appearance thatthe calls originated from HELOC account
holders, the co-conspirators would create and use accounts with a caller ID falsification service
destination phone number, followed by the number the co-conspirator wished to have appear in
the financial institution's caller ID display.
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15. It was a further partof the enterprise that one or more co-conspirators would use
SpoofCard's voice masking features. These features allowed SpoofCard account holders to
change the sound of their voices, including bymaking male voices appear female, and vice versa.
16. It was a further part of the enterprise that, before calling a victim financial
institution, one or more co-conspirators would sometimes call the targeted HELOC account
holder's phone company and, while impersonating the account holder, use a pretext to have the
phone company forward the account holder's home phone number temporarily to a pre-paid cell
phone in the possession ofone ofthe co-conspirators. This would ensure that, ifthe targeted
financial institution needed to call its account holder back for some reason while the fraudulent
wire transfer was pending, the financial institution would reach the co-conspirator, and not the
17. It wasa further part of the enterprise that, when calling financial institutions, the
order to gain fraudulent access to the accounts. Once the co-conspirator had gained access to the
substantial funds were available in the HELOC account, the co-conspirator would request that a
wire transfer form be sent toa fax number ore-mail account controlled by a co-conspirator.
18. Itwas a further part ofthe enterprise that co-conspirators would sometimes gain
access to victims' online account using pre-paid, cellularbroadband Internet access cards in order
to check balances ormove money between HELOC accounts and checking orsavings accounts
from which an international wire-transfer could be initiated.
19. It was a further part of the enterprise that one or more co-conspirators established
and accessed free web-based e-mail accounts using pre-paid, cellular broadband Internet access
Case 1:11-cr-00187-CMH Document 20 Filed 04/21/11 Page 6 of 21
cards in order to receive wire transfer request forms and to communicate with other members of
the conspiracy regarding data about potential victims. One or more co-conspirators also used
these email accounts to share target victim information.
20. It was a further part of the enterprise that one or more co-conspirators would
recordation documents. The co-conspirators would use these signatures as exemplars when
forging account holders' signatures on the wire transfer request form orthe co-conspirators
would cut-and-paste the scanned signatures onto the forms.
21. It was a further part of the enterprise that one or more of the co-conspirators
would fax the completed wire transfer request back to the victim financial institution, requesting
that funds from the HELOC account be wired to an overseas or U.S.-based bank account
controlled by other co-conspirators. Onother occasions, co-conspirators would move the victim
account holder's funds from the victim's HELOC account into the victim's savings or checking
account before initiating the wire transfer.
22. It was a further part of the enterprise that theco-conspirators who controlled the
accounts into which HELOC funds were wired would keep a percentage ofthe fraudulently-
obtained proceeds andthencause the remainder of the proceeds to be transferred to bank
accounts ofONWUHARA, MATTHEWS, OBILO, ORJINTA, and other previously indicted and
unindicted co-conspirators in the United States and Nigeria.
23. It was a further part ofthe conspiracy that on or about May 8,2008, Defendant
ONWUHARA opened a corporate bank account in the name of SWAT CONSTRUCTION
LIMITED with Zenith Bank in Lagos, Nigeria, which was used to receive proceeds obtained
from the fraudulent scheme.
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24. In furtherance of the above Enterprise, and in order to effect the objects thereof,
the following overt acts, among others, were committed by Defendants and others within the
Credit Union ("FTCU") and while impersonating FTCU account holder M.C. caused
$187,220.00 to be transferred from M.C.'s HELOC account into M.C.'s savings account, without
M.C.'s knowledge or authorization. ONWUHARA then caused FTCU to wire $94,000.00 from
M.C.'s savings account into a SunTrust Bankaccount in Virginia Beach, Virginia, within in the
a HELOC account with United States Senate Federal Credit Union ("USSFCU"), called
USSFCU's customer support in Alexandria, Virginia, within the Eastern District ofVirginia,
provided R.S.'s personal account information, and fraudulently caused USSFCU to execute a
wire transfer in the amount of $280,000.00 dollars from R.S.'s HELOC account into R.S.'s
USSFCU checking account. ONWUHARA then logged into R.S.'s online USSFCU account and
initiated the wire transfer of $280,000.00 into a co-coaspirator's bank account in Korea, without
R.S.'s knowledge or authorization.
services department inAlexandria, Virginia, within the Eastern District ofVirginia, and
impersonated State Department Federal Credit Union ("SDFCU") account holder J.W. During
that call, ONWUHARA caused SDFCU to transfer $61,000.00 from J.W.'s HELOC account into
then attempted to execute a wire transfer of $61,000.00 from J.W.'s SDFCU checking account
into Branch Banking and Trust bank account ending in 7582 located in Arlington, Virginia,
part of this enterprise. Over that period, ONWUHARA and other previously-indicted and
Count Two
(Conspiracy to Commit Bank Fraud)
29. Between in or about May 2007 and onor about August 1,2008, within the Eastern
federally-protected credit unions and other financial institutions, as described in Count One,
paragraphs 10 through 28, which are realleged and incorporated as if fully set forth inthis Count.
30. To wit: on orabout December 7, 2008, ONWUHARA called USSFCU and, while
impersonating R.S., the holder ofa HELOC account with USSFCU, fraudulently caused
USSFCU to execute a wire transfer in the amount of $280,000.00 dollars from R.S.'s account to
an account ending in 1001 at Woori Bank in Korea without R.S.'s knowledge or authorization.
ONWUHARA had USSFCU send thetransfer authorization form to an email account controlled
31. The money that was transferred to the Woori Bank in Korea was withdrawn by a
money-mule who worked for the conspiracy. The money mule took a cutand transferred the rest
to another member of the conspiracy in Indonesia, who in turn took a cut andtransferred the
Count Three
(Bank Fraud)
32. On orabout November 27,2007, within the Eastern District ofVirginia and
elsewhere, the defendant ONWUHARA knowingly executed and attempted to execute the
scheme and artifice to defraud FTCU, as described in Count One, paragraph 25, which is
realleged and incorporated as if fully set forth in this Count, by calling FTCU, and, while
impersonating FTCU account holder M.C, causing $187,220.00 to be transferred from M.C.'s
HELOC account into M.C.'s savings account, withouc M.C.'s knowledge or authorization.
While continuingto impersonate M.C, ONWUHARA caused FTCU to execute a wire transfer
of $94,000.00 from M.C.'s savings account, without M.C.'s knowledge or authorization, into a
SunTrust Bank account in Virginia Beach, Virginia, within the Eastern District ofVirginia.
(All in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1344 and 2).
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Count Four
(Bank Fraud)
33. On orabout December 7,2007, within the Eastern District ofVirginia and
elsewhere, the defendant ONWUHARA knowingly executed and attempted to execute the
scheme and artifice to defraud USSFCU, as described in Count Two, paragraphs 29 through 31,
which are realleged and incorporated as if fully set forth in this Count, by calling USSFCU and,
while impersonating R.S., the holder ofa HELOC account with USSFCU, fraudulently causing
USSFCU to execute a wire transfer in the amount of $280,000.00 dollars from R.S.'s account to
an account ending in 1001 at Woori Bank in Korea without R.S.'s knowledge or authorization.
(All in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1344 and 2).
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Count Five
(Bank Fraud)
34. On or about December 16, 2007, within the Eastern District ofVirginia and
elsewhere, the defendant ONWUHARA knowingly executed and attempted to execute the
scheme and artifice to defraud SDFCU, as described in Count One, paragraph 27, which is
realleged and incorporated as if fully set forth in this Count, by calling SDFCU, and, while
impersonating SDFCU account holder J.W., causing $61,000.00 to betransferred from J.W.'s
checking account to aBB&T bank account ending in 7582 in Arlington, Virginia, within the
Eastern District of Virginia, without J.W.'s knowledge or authorization.
(All inviolation ofTitle 18, United States Code, Sections 1344 and 2).
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Count Six
(Aggravated Identity Theft)
35. On or about November 27, 2008, in the Eastern District of Virginia, the defendant
ONWUHARA during and inrelation to a violation of 18 United States Code, Section 1344, as
alleged in Count 3 didknowingly use, without lawful authority, a means of identification of
another person, M.C, to wit, M.C.'s name and social security number.
(All in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1028A and 2).
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Count Seven
(Aggravated Identity Theft)
36. On or about December 7,2007, in the Eastern District ofVirginia, the defendant
ONWUHARA during and in relation to aviolation of18 United States Code, Section 1344, as
alleged in Count 4 did knowingly use, without lawful authority, a means ofidentification of
another person, R.S., to wit, R.S.'s name and social security number.
(All in violation ofTitle 18, United States Code, Sections 1028A and 2).
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Count Eight
(Aggravated Identity Theft)
37. On orabout December 16,2008, in the Eastern District ofVirginia, the defendant
ONWUHARA during and in relation to a violation of 18 United States Code, Section 1344, as
alleged in Count 5 did knowingly use, without lawful authority, a means of identification of
another person, J.W., to wit, J.W.'s name and social security number.
(All in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1028A and 2).
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obtain property and money by means ofmaterial misrepresentations and fraudulent pretenses and
representations.
39. On orabout the dates listed below, in the Eastern District ofVirginia, and
elsewhere, the defendant, ONWUHARA for the purpose ofexecuting the aforesaid scheme and
artifice to obtain money or property by fraud, and attempting to do so, did knowingly transmit by
means ofwire communications in interstate commerce certain writings, signs, signals and
sounds, as set forth below:
(All inviolation ofTitle 18, United States Code, Sections 1343 and 2)
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Count Thirteen
(Money Laundering)
obtain property and money by means ofmaterial misrepresentations and fraudulent pretenses and
representations.
unlawful activity and knowing that such transfer and attempted transfer was designed in whole or
in part to conceal and disguise the location, source, ownership and control ofthe proceeds ofthe
specified unlawful activity, to wit: the bank fraud scheme set forth in Counts 2 and 4.
(All in violation ofTitle 18, United States Code, Sections 1956(a)(2)(B)(i) and 2)
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Count Fourteen
(Conspiracy to Launder Monetary Instruments)
obtain property and money by means ofmaterial misrepresentations and fraudulent pretenses and
representations.
43. From on or about May 2007 through August 2008, in the Eastern District of
Virginia and elsewhere, the defendants, ONWUHARA, ORJINTA, NNABUE, and other
previously-indicted and unindicted co-conspirators did knowingly combine, conspire, and agree
with each other and with other persons known and unknown to the Grand Jury to commit
offenses against the United States in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1956 and
Section 1957, to wit: to transport, transmit, and transfer, and attempt to transport, transmit, and
transfer a monetary instrument or funds involving the proceeds ofspecified unlawful activity,
that is, conspiracy to commit bank fraud, as set forth in Count 2 ofthe indictment, from a place
inthe United States to orthrough a place outside the United States, knowing that the funds
involved inthe transportation, transmission, and transfer represented the proceeds ofsome form
of unlawful activity and knowing that such transportation, transmission, andtransfer was
designed in whole or in part to conceal and disguise the nature, location, source, ownership, and
control of the proceeds of specified unlawful activity.
44. The manner and means ofcarrying out the conspiracy are set forth inparagraphs
12 through 23 ofCount 1ofthe indictment and are realleged and incorporated as though fully set
forth herein.
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45. As a means ofcarrying out the conspiracy, on orabout December 7,2007, in the
Eastern District ofVirginia and elsewhere, defendant, ONWUHARA did transmit, transfer and
attempt to transmit and transfer funds, that is $280,000.00 in U.S. currency representing proceeds
from the bank fraud scheme described in Counts 2and 4, from a place in the United States, that
is R.S.'s USSFCU bank account, to a place outside the United States, that isan account at Woori
Bank in Korea ending in 1001.
46. As a further means ofcarrying out the conspiracy, between in orabout December
2007 and in or about February 2008, money mules working for the conspiracy withdrew the
$280,000.00 from the account ending in 1001 at the Woori Bank of Korea and after taking acut
transmitted the money to another co-conspirator in Indonesia who coordinated money mules
across Asia for the conspiracy.
47. As a further means ofcarrying out the conspiracy, from in or about February 2008
to inorabout March 2008, the co-conspirator in Indonesia transferred $100,000.00 to ORJINTA
and additional money to ONWUHARA.
48. As a further means ofcarrying out the conspiracy, inorabout March 2008,
ORJINTA gave NNABUE $100,000.00 as his share ofthe proceeds from R.S.'s HELOC account
at USSFCU.
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49. Paragraphs 1 through 48 of this Indictment, which constitute and describe the
defendants' scheme and artifice to obtain property and money by means ofmaterial
misrepresentations and fraudulent pretenses and representations, are re-alleged and incorporated
as though fully set forth herein.
50. On orabout December 7,2008, in the Eastern District ofVirginia and elsewhere,
the Defendant, ONWUHARA using a computer with an Internet Protocol address of
75.192.189.135, did knowingly and with the intent to defraud, access a protected computer of
USSFCU without authorization, and in excess ofauthorized access, and by means ofsuch
conduct furthered the intended scheme to defraud and obtained something ofvalue, namely the
use of funds in the USSFCU account holder R.S.'s account, as follows:
(AH in violation ofTitle 18, United States Code, Section 1030(a)(4) and 2)
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FORFEITURE NOTTPR
51. Pursuant to Fed. R. Crim. Pro. 32.2(a), the Defendant is hereby notified that,
upon conviction ofthe offense in violation ofTitle 18, United States Code, Section 1349 set
forth in Count Two ofthis Indictment, TOBECHI ONWUHARA shall forfeit to the United
States ofAmerica, pursuant to Title 18, United States Code, Section 982(a)(2)(A), any property
constituting, or derived from, proceeds obtained, directly or indirectly, as aresult ofsuch
violation. The property to be forfeited includes, but is not limited to, at least $13 million in
United States currency as amoney judgment for the proceeds ofthe offense.
52. Ifany ofthe property described above, as aresult ofany act or omission ofthe
Defendant:
then the United States ofAmerica shall be entitled to forfeiture ofsubstitute property pursuant to
Title 21, United States Code, Section 853(p), as incorporated by Title 18, United States Code,
Section 982(b)(1). All pursuant to 18 U.S.C. §982(a)(2)(A).
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