A Georgia woman has been sentenced in a business email compromise scheme that diverted $158,000 from an agricultural company during a purchase of strawberry seeds, according to the Georgia Attorney General’s Office.
Officials said Ogechi Urenna Udunka, 44, of Decatur, pleaded guilty to two counts each of Theft by Taking and Money Laundering.
A Gwinnett County Superior Court judge sentenced Udunka under the First Offender Act to 10 years. The court ordered 90 days to be served in jail, with the balance on probation. She must also pay full restitution and complete 200 hours of community service.
How the business email compromise unfolded
Prosecutors said the case dates to June 2021, when an agricultural company was working with an Oregon firm to buy strawberry seeds. The buyer received a payment request from an email address that closely resembled the legitimate vendor’s address, but the request was fraudulent.
The company sent two wire transfers on June 15 and June 30, 2021, totaling $158,000. According to prosecutors, Udunka received the funds, which were the proceeds of a business email compromise carried out by unknown individuals.
After the transfers arrived, Udunka conducted a series of financial transactions intended to conceal the source of the money and distributed the proceeds to herself and others, the Attorney General’s Office said.
Business email compromise losses remain high
Georgia officials said their White Collar and Cyber Crime Unit is prioritizing cyber-enabled fraud and urged businesses and consumers to learn how to recognize and report online scams. Business email compromise schemes typically rely on spoofed or lookalike emails that request payments or wire transfers while appearing to come from trusted contacts.
According to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center, such scams resulted in more than $3 billion in reported losses last year.
Authorities encourage businesses that suspect cyber fraud to contact their financial institution immediately, notify local law enforcement, and file a report with the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center. Agricultural companies facing similar risks have been investing in technology and risk controls as part of broader efforts to address agrifood bottlenecks.