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Mercer County Prosecutor Janetta D. Marbrey reported that two individuals have been charged in connection with a sophisticated business email compromise scheme that resulted in the theft of $150,000 from a local small business owner.
A 69-year-old from Marietta NY and a 64-year-old from Granbury Texas were each issued a summons complaint charging them with one count of second-degree theft of property lost, mislaid, or delivered by mistake. Second-degree crimes carry a sentence of five to 10 years in state prison and a fine of up to $150,000.
In August 2024, the owner of a small business in Trenton reported that he fell victim to a fraudulent email scheme that redirected his wire transfer funds to an unauthorized account.
An investigation by the prosecutor’s Cyber Crimes Task Force ensued, and through detailed financial tracing and forensic analysis, investigators discovered that the stolen funds were wired to a Key Bank account under the control of one of the suspects. They subsequently disbursed the funds via official checks to the other suspect in Texas. Surveillance footage and banking records confirmed they accessed the account in New York and transferred the majority of the funds to the person in Texas. At the time of the investigation, one of the accounts still contained $30,000, which was preserved pending legal action.
Detective Michael Smith of the MCPO Cyber Crimes Task Force led the extensive investigation, which included the issuance of numerous subpoenas, court orders and search warrants to financial institutions and internet service providers.
“This case highlights the growing threat of cyber-enabled financial crimes and the importance of law enforcement collaboration across jurisdictions,” Prosecutor Marbrey said. “Detective Smith’s diligent work led to the rare identification and charging of suspects in what is typically a faceless cybercrime.”
The case required multistate cooperation and Prosecutor Marbrey thanked the Tarrant County (TX) District Attorney’s Office and the Collin County (TX) Sheriff’s Office for their instrumental assistance.
The investigation is ongoing as authorities continue efforts to identify the individuals responsible for initiating the business email compromise.
Reporting Internet Crimes
Internet crimes should be reported to your local law enforcement agency and the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) at https://www.ic3.gov/. IC3 is the central hub for reporting cyber-enabled crime and is run by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
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