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Maryland resident Emeka Ndukwu, age 50, of Lanham in Prince George's County, was arraigned on Long Island on Saturday, Oct. 1, on a felony charge of grand larceny in Nassau County Court..
Working with two other individuals, prosecutors said Ndukwu, who is a dual national of the United States and Nigeria, convinced a Garden City resident to wire a total of $45,000 to a person he believed to be a real estate attorney in October 2021.
Ndukwu is accused of recruiting the individual who received the stolen money in their bank account, prosecutors said.
He surrendered to police on Friday, Sept. 30 and was released on his own recognizance.
He was scheduled back in Nassau County court Friday, Oct. 7.
If convicted, Ndukwu faces between two and seven years in prison.
Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly said email scams are proliferating across the country.
“Across the United States we’re seeing an epidemic of email scams targeting people who transfer large sums of money as part of their jobs or who are about to transfer money as part of an important life event, like buying a home,” Donnelly said.
The cases are difficult for police to solve as suspects often live outside of the state or country, police said.
The Nassau County DA’s Office offered several tips people can follow to avoid falling victim to scammers. They include:
- Review email addresses carefully for deviations in the sender’s name or domain name and ensure that transaction details, including account numbers or payment options, haven’t changed.
- Follow up any email communications or text messages with a phone call before any money is exchanged.
- Be sure to use previous contact information for the person, not information received during the course of your email chain, which could be hacked.
- Look out for any changes in normal business procedures, including an individual using a personal email address or making suspicious requests.
- Be aware of any changes in language or speech pattern, including unusual grammar mistakes, formality, or informality, in the communications requesting money.
- Scammers will emphasize urgency in their request for money. Pay attention to common phrases like “time is of the essence” or “I need you to take care of this ASAP” or language threatening that a deal may fall through if immediate action to transfer money isn’t taken.
- If you believe you may have sent money to someone who has defrauded you, contact your financial institution immediately, which may be able to stop or reverse the transaction and recover some or all of your money.
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