Man ordered to pay over $1 million in restitution after scamming GA victims in cyber fraud scheme

Two men are headed to prison for their involvement in several cyber fraud schemes.

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On Wednesday, Ugochinyere Anazodo, 46, of Gwinnett County, and Dominique Beaulieu, 45, of Windermere, Fla., were convicted of participating in several cyber fraud schemes. The victims included small businesses, governments and individuals, who lost money through scams such as Business Email Compromise (BEC), romance and confidence fraud, inheritance, and identity theft.

According to the attorney general’s office, the Georgia Department of Transportation was fraudulently induced to pay a legitimate vendor’s invoices to the two convicted after the vendor fell victim to a BEC scam. Officials also said a private citizen was conned by a man she believed she could trust. Her money flowed to Anazodo through four separate business bank accounts – all of which had been established using the stolen identities of Georgia citizens.

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On Aug. 29, 2024, After a nine-day trial, a Gwinnett County jury found Anazodo guilty of two counts of racketeering, theft by taking and money laundering. He was sentenced to 20 years, with the first 10 years to be served in prison.

Anazodo was also ordered to pay $1,174,928.79 in restitution to the victims.

Beaulieu pleaded guilty to two counts of racketeering before the trial. He was sentenced to five years, with the first two years to be served in prison. Beaulieu was also ordered to pay restitution.

According to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center statistics, Georgia victims lost over $300 million to cyber-enabled fraud in 2023 alone.

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If you or someone you know have fallen victim to a cyber fraud scheme, such as a BEC or romance scam, file a report with the appropriate financial provider, call your local law enforcement agency and the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center.

For more information about online scams and how to protect yourself, click here or visit the Georgia Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division by clicking here .

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