2019-12-19 DOJ SDNY press_release 119 KB 5,509 chars

Lithuanian Man Sentenced To 5 Years In Prison For Theft Of Over $120 Million In Fraudulent Business Email Compromise Scheme

Caption: United States v. Evaldas Rimasauskas, et al.

summary

Lithuanian citizen Evaldas Rimasauskas was sentenced to 60 months in prison for orchestrating a $120 million business email compromise scheme by impersonating an Asian hardware manufacturer, tricking two U.S. companies into wiring funds to fraudulent accounts he controlled, and laundering the proceeds globally.

paragraph

Evaldas Rimasauskas, a Lithuanian national, pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud for orchestrating a fraudulent business email compromise scheme that defrauded two U.S.-based tech companies of over $120 million between 2013 and 2015. He created a fake Latvian company with the same name as a legitimate Asian hardware manufacturer, sent phishing emails to deceive victims into wiring payments to accounts he controlled in Latvia and Cyprus, and used forged invoices and corporate stamps to facilitate the transfers. He was ordered to forfeit $49,738,559.41, pay $26,479,079.24 in restitution, serve two years of supervised release, and was extradited from Lithuania to the U.S. after his 2017 arrest.

narrative

Evaldas Rimasauskas, a Lithuanian citizen, orchestrated a sophisticated business email compromise scheme between 2013 and 2015 that defrauded two U.S.-based multinational companies— one a technology firm and the other an online social media company—of over $120 million. He impersonated an Asian computer hardware manufacturer by registering a fraudulent Latvian company with the same name, then sent phishing emails from spoofed addresses that appeared to come from the legitimate vendor, instructing victims to redirect payments to bank accounts he controlled in Latvia and Cyprus. To legitimize the fraudulent transactions, Rimasauskas fabricated invoices, contracts, and corporate letters bearing forged stamps of the victim companies. After receiving the funds, he rapidly laundered the money through a network of bank accounts across Latvia, Cyprus, Slovakia, Lithuania, Hungary, and Hong Kong. Arrested in Lithuania in March 2017 under a provisional warrant, he was extradited to the Southern District of New York in August 2017. He pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud and was sentenced to 60 months in prison, two years of supervised release, forfeiture of $49,738,559.41, and restitution of $26,479,079.24. The investigation involved coordinated efforts by the FBI, Lithuanian and Latvian authorities, and the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs.

Enriched metadata

Scheme: cyber-fraud (95%)
Court: Southern District of New York
Outcome: pleaded
Restitution: $26,479,079
Victim loss: $120,000,000

Classified cyber-fraud(confidence 95%). No EDGAR filing fingerprint (criminal/DOJ-side scheme). detection rule →

Extracted insights

Dollar amounts 5

$120.00M $120 Million $100M–$1B
$120.00M $120 million $100M–$1B
$120.00M $120,000,000 $100M–$1B
$49.74M $49,738,559 $10M–$100M
$26.48M $26,479,079 $10M–$100M

Entities 5

person evaldas rimasauskas
person fraudulent phishing emails
person fraudulent scheme
person Geoffrey S. Berman
scheme_term one count of wire fraud

Triples 12

Evaldas Rimasauskas sentenced to 60 months in prison
Evaldas Rimasauskas pled guilty to one count of wire fraud
Evaldas Rimasauskas orchestrated fraudulent business email compromise scheme
Fraudulent scheme induced two U.S.-based Internet companies to wire over $120 million
Evaldas Rimasauskas registered and incorporated Company-2 in Latvia
Company-2 bore same name as Asian-based computer hardware manufacturer (Company-1)
Evaldas Rimasauskas opened and controlled bank accounts in Latvia and Cyprus
Fraudulent phishing emails sent to employees and agents of Victim Companies
Evaldas Rimasauskas caused stolen funds to be wired to bank accounts in Latvia, Cyprus, Slovakia, Lithuania, Hungary, and Hong Kong
Geoffrey S. Berman announced sentencing of Evaldas Rimasauskas
U.S. District Judge George B. Daniels imposed 60-month prison sentence
Scheme operated from 2013 through 2015

View original DOJ press releasejustice.gov

Extracted body text (5,509c)

Press Release Lithuanian Man Sentenced To 5 Years In Prison For Theft Of Over $120 Million In Fraudulent Business Email Compromise Scheme Thursday, December 19, 2019 Share FacebookLinks to other government and non-government sites will typically appear with the “external link” icon to indicate that you are leaving the Department of Justice website when you click the link. XLinks to other government and non-government sites will typically appear with the “external link” icon to indicate that you are leaving the Department of Justice website when you click the link. LinkedInLinks to other government and non-government sites will typically appear with the “external link” icon to indicate that you are leaving the Department of Justice website when you click the link. Email For Immediate Release U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of New York Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that EVALDAS RIMASAUSKAS, a Lithuanian citizen, was sentenced today to 60 months in prison for participating in a fraudulent business email compromise scheme that induced two U.S.-based Internet companies (the “Victim Companies”) to wire a total of over $120 million to bank accounts he controlled. RIMASAUSKAS previously pled guilty to one count of wire fraud before U.S. District Judge George B. Daniels, who imposed today’s sentence. U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said: “Evaldas Rimasauskas devised an audacious scheme to fleece U.S. companies out of more than $120 million, and then funneled those funds to bank accounts around the globe. Rimasauskas carried out his high-tech theft from halfway across the globe, but he got sentenced to prison right here in Manhattan federal court.” According to the allegations in the Indictment to which RIMASAUSKAS pled guilty, court filings, and statements made in public court proceedings: From at least in or around 2013 through in or about 2015, RIMASAUSKAS orchestrated a fraudulent scheme designed to deceive the Victim Companies, including a multinational technology company and a multinational online social media company, into wiring funds to bank accounts controlled by RIMASAUSKAS. Specifically, RIMASAUSKAS registered and incorporated a company in Latvia (“Company-2”) that bore the same name as an Asian-based computer hardware manufacturer (“Company-1”), and opened, maintained, and controlled various accounts at banks located in Latvia and Cyprus in the name of Company-2. Thereafter, fraudulent phishing emails were sent to employees and agents of the Victim Companies, which regularly conducted multimillion-dollar transactions with Company-1, directing that money the Victim Companies owed Company-1 for legitimate goods and services be sent to Company-2’s bank accounts in Latvia and Cyprus, which were controlled by RIMASAUSKAS. These emails purported to be from employees and agents of Company-1, and were sent from email accounts that were designed to create the false appearance that they were sent by employees and agents of Company-1, but in truth and in fact, were neither sent nor authorized by Company-1. This scheme succeeded in deceiving the Victim Companies into complying with the fraudulent wiring instructions. After the Victim Companies wired funds intended for Company-1 to Company-2’s bank accounts in Latvia and Cyprus, RIMASAUSKAS caused the stolen funds to be quickly wired into different bank accounts in various locations throughout the world, including Latvia, Cyprus, Slovakia, Lithuania, Hungary, and Hong Kong. RIMASAUSKAS also caused forged invoices, contracts, and letters that falsely appeared to have been executed and signed by executives and agents of the Victim Companies, and which bore false corporate stamps embossed with the Victim Companies’ names, to be submitted to banks in support of the large volume of funds that were fraudulently transmitted via wire transfer. Through these false and deceptive representations over the course of the scheme, RIMASAUSKAS, the defendant, caused the Victim Companies to transfer a total of over $120,000,000 in U.S. currency from the Victim Companies’ bank accounts to Company-2’s bank accounts. RIMASAUSKAS was arrested by Lithuanian authorities in March 2017, pursuant to a provisional arrest warrant, and was extradited to the Southern District of New York in August 2017. * * * In addition to the prison term, Judge Daniels ordered RIMASAUSKAS to serve two years of supervised release, to forfeit $49,738,559.41, and to pay restitution in the amount of $26,479,079.24. Mr. Berman praised the outstanding investigative work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and thanked the Prosecutor General’s Office of the Republic of Lithuania, the Lithuanian Criminal Police Bureau, the Vilnius District Prosecutor’s Office and the Economic Crime Investigation Board of Vilnius County Police Headquarters, the Prosecutor General’s Office of the Republic of Latvia, and the International Assistance Group at the Department of Justice, Canada, for their assistance in the investigation, arrests, and extradition, as well the Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs. The case is being prosecuted by the Office’s Complex Frauds and Cybercrime Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Eun Young Choi and Olga Zverovich are in charge of the prosecution. Contact Jim Margolin, Nicholas Biase (212) 637-2600 Updated December 19, 2019 Topic Financial Fraud Component USAO - New York, Southern Press Release Number: 19-441

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