A Cobb County man has been indicted on multiple charges related to a fraud and money laundering scheme that targeted a Pennsylvania university, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
Denis Onderi Makori, 34, of Powder Springs, was indicted by a federal grand jury Tuesday on charges that he defrauded the undisclosed university out of more than $2 million, the DOJ announced. The charges stem from a business email compromise that led the school to send payments directly to an account controlled by Makori, according to Northern District of Georgia acting U.S. Attorney Kurt R. Erskine.
The initial case presented to the grand jury claims that Makori, among others, emailed the university from an account that appeared to be from a medical supply company. That email requested payment and included payment instructions that led the university to transfer more than $2 million into an account that was actually controlled by Makori, Erskine said in a news release.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Makori then laundered the funds by moving them between accounts for his logistics company, bank accounts in Kenya and his personal accounts.
The Georgia Secretary of State’s website shows Makori listed as the former Registered Agent for A.V.A. Logistics, a transportation logistics company in Powder Springs.
“Business email compromise schemes pose a severe risk of financial loss to public and private institutions alike,” Erskine said. “In this case, Makori allegedly helped orchestrate a scheme that caused a university to transfer unknowingly over $2 million to bank accounts he controlled.”
“BEC schemes like this alleged one are a big reason why the Georgia Cyber Fraud Task Force, comprised of federal, state and local agencies, was launched in February,” FBI Atlanta Special Agent Chris Hacker said. “It takes a combination of education and our priority to investigate and prosecute these cases to make it a deterrent to those who contemplate committing these crimes.”
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