A Nigerian man was sentenced to five years and 11 months in prison on Monday for his role in an online scam that accessed the employee bank accounts of several colleges and universities, including some at Georgia Tech, federal prosecutors said Tuesday.
Olayinka Olaniyi, 34, was part of a “phishing” scheme that sent fraudulent emails that appeared to be from legitimate businesses to trick the recipients into providing personal information and passwords, according to officials.
He and Damilola S. Ibiwoye, 29, also from Nigeria, used the information to steal payroll deposits and access to employee W2 forms, which they used to file fraudulent tax returns. The attempted theft exceeded $6 million, prosecutors said.
Olaniyi was convicted of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, computer fraud and aggravated identity theft earlier this month.
He was ordered to pay $56,175.44 in restitution, according to a statement from U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak’s office.
After he is released from prison, Olaniyi will be under supervised release for three years.
Georgia Tech officials contacted the FBI after discovering the suspicious activity in employee information in November 2014, AJC.com previously reported.
Ibiwoye was sentenced earlier this year to 39 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised released. He was ordered to pay $51,175 in restitution.
The men committed their crimes while living in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and were ultimately extradited to the U.S. to face charges.
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