Maxwell Ikebudu fronts court over ID fraud worth nearly $8m
A Melbourne con artist who had fleeced Australians out of almost $8m was arrested just before boarding a flight out of the country.
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A Melbourne-based identity thief who was part of an international computer hacking syndicate that defrauded Australians of nearly $8m was nabbed just before he was due to fly out of the country.
Nigeria-bound Maxwell Ikebudu told police at Melbourne Airport where mobile phones and SIM cards used in the offending were found in his luggage that he wished to study law with a view to helping people.
He denied any involvement in the crime but a jury in the County Court found him guilty of eight charges of intentionally dealing with the proceeds of crime and one of conspiracy to defraud.
The 34-year-old was sentenced to 11 years in prison on June 14 with a non-parole of eight years.
He conspired with unknown persons, believed to be overseas-based, and siphoned off $7.8m from people and businesses across Australia by hacking their emails between February 2019 and July 2021.
The court heard $4.7m of the amount was recovered.
Ikebudu, known by the syndicate as “Nigerian Plug Million”, created and controlled multiple bank accounts using the identities of people without their knowledge and channelled fraudulently-received money into his and his partner’s accounts.
He would then convert the funds into forms such as cryptocurrency and gold bullion before sending them overseas.
The syndicate’s biggest haul was $3.9m, from NSW-based law firm
Osborn Law, which was settlement due to a client for the sale of her property.
About $3.3m was recovered and the law firm’s insurance compensated her for the lost funds.
The syndicate also hacked the emails of ASBuild NT and learnt that the business was due payments by Anyinginyi Health Aboriginal Corporation and Charles Darwin University.
The hackers then sent emails to the debtors purporting to be from ASBuild NT and obtained $662,697 from the university and $307,128 from the corporation.
The two entities managed to recover $513,769.
Ikebudu and fellow hackers then received $1.3m from Force One by the same method of which $820,858 was recovered.
In January 2020, the Kowanyama Aboriginal Shire Council paid the hackers $1.4m after receiving an email purportedly from AON Insurance. None of the money could be recovered.
Rail Track Corporation unknowingly transferred $38,728 that was meant to be paid to IM Rail which later went into liquidation.
Ikebudu told the court that he was heading back to Nigeria when he was arrested to reapply for an appropriate visa that would let him return to Australia and study law.
However, the prosecution told the court he had a one-way ticket back to Nigeria and an application for a visa for New Zealand when he was arrested at Melbourne Airport on August 1, 2021.
“Some of that money was recovered due to actions of the banks but even where insurance covered the difference or lost funds, the victims suffered loss and harm,” Judge Fran Dalziel said.
“As the person who set up the bank accounts, provided them to the syndicate and then cleared funds from the receiving accounts, you were not a minor player.”
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