Woman To Serve Four Years in Prison for Role in $800,000 Business Email Hack That Tricked Victims Into Sending Fraudulent Bank Wires
An accountant and adjunct business instructor from Scranton, Pennsylvania, has been sentenced to federal prison for her involvement in a multi-state business email compromise scheme. Margo Ann Williams, aged 63, was found guilty of laundering $800,000 in proceeds from a fraudulent scheme that took place between December 2022 and July 2023, according to a statement released by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Iowa.
During the trial, evidence showed that Williams was part of a scheme where the email accounts of five victims – including a Cedar Rapids church, two businesses, a non-profit, and an individual – were hacked while they were in the process of making large wire and automatic clearinghouse (ACH) transfers. The victims received spoofed emails instructing them to change the routing information for the transfers. Believing the emails were legitimate, the victims followed the instructions and wired the funds to accounts controlled by Williams.
After receiving the funds, Williams transferred the money to other accounts under her control, and eventually to two crypto exchanges and an individual in Florida. Despite the banks discovering her fraudulent activities and closing her accounts, Williams continued opening new accounts at different banks to keep the scheme going. She profited approximately $25,000 from the operation, using the funds for personal purchases such as an Apple watch and a luxury bag.
Williams claimed that she carried out the scheme under the direction of a famous British actor with whom she was romantically involved. She has been sentenced to four years in prison and ordered to pay $594,037 in restitution to her victims. Additionally, Williams must serve a three-year term of supervised release following her imprisonment.
For more news and updates, follow us on X, Facebook, and Telegram. Subscribe to receive email alerts directly to your inbox and stay informed about price action and the latest developments in the cryptocurrency world.
Image credit: Midjourney.
