Nigerian Man Charged In Groton School Employee Phishing Scam: DOJ

GROTON, CT — John H. Durham, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, said a Nigerian citizen residing in Georgia has been charged in an alleged phishing scheme that victimized Groton school employees.

According to a news release, a federal grand jury in New Haven returned an indictment Thursday charging 35-year-old Olukayode Ibrahim Lawal, a citizen of Nigeria residing in Smyrna, Georgia, with fraud and identity theft offenses stemming from a scheme to obtain the personal identifying information of school employees in Connecticut and elsewhere.

Durham said in March 2017, a Groton Public Schools employee received an email requesting W-2 tax information for all employees that appeared to be sent by another Groton school employee.

According to Durham, the recipient of the email responded by sending copies of the W-2 information for approximately 1,300 Groton Public Schools employees. After the information was emailed, approximately 100 suspicious Forms 1040 were filed electronically with the IRS in the names of phishing scheme victims.

"The 100 tax returns claimed tax refunds totaling $491,737," Durham said. "Approximately three of the returns were processed, and $23,543 in fraudulently-obtained funds were electronically deposited into various bank accounts. It is alleged that Lawal controlled or used certain email accounts involved in this phishing scheme, and that he participated in the scheme to obtain the Groton school system employees’ personal identifying information and use it for personal gain."

The accused was arrested May 9 on a federal criminal complaint at his residence. He appeared before a judge in Atlanta and was ordered detained pending his transfer to Connecticut.

It is also alleged that Lawal entered the U.S. on a visitor’s visa on Nov. 24, 2016, and failed to leave on his scheduled departure date of Dec. 1, 2016, Durham said.

Durham said the accused is charged with wire fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. He also stressed that a complaint is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt.

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