
Two Nigerians, Shodiya Babatunde, 43, and Jamui Ahmed, 31, have been charged by U.S. authorities for their alleged role in a $13 million business email compromise scheme targeting healthcare companies in Minnesota. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Minnesota announced the indictment on Thursday, stating that the two, along with accomplices, orchestrated a fraudulent operation that diverted millions intended for Fairview Health into their own accounts.
U.S. Attorney Andrew Luger revealed that Babatunde and Ahmed manipulated employees at multiple healthcare firms, tricking them into sending payments to fraudulent accounts under their control. The scheme, which took place between October 2020 and 2024, involved the creation of fake internet domains and emails that impersonated high-level executives at Fairview Health.
"As part of the scheme, Babatunde and Ahmed created a spoofed domain designed to look like it belonged to Fairview Health," Luger said. These fraudulent accounts were then used in phishing attacks to gather sensitive information such as passwords and account details from healthcare vendors.
The stolen funds, totaling over $13 million, were redirected from Minnesota-based companies to accounts managed by Babatunde, Ahmed, and their co-conspirators. Both men have since fled to Nigeria and are currently fugitives from justice.
U.S. authorities are continuing efforts to locate and apprehend the suspects, while Fairview Health and the impacted companies work to recover the lost funds.
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