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Athens has recovered a portion of the funds stolen in a cyber scam and could receive more from a criminal case
By: David Forster
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ATHENS, Ohio (WOUB) — The city of Athens has recovered over half of the more than $700,000 stolen in a cyber fraud operation in late 2024.
Meanwhile, the federal government has brought criminal charges against two Air Force members, accusing them of cyber fraud against more than a dozen victims. It’s possible these two were involved in the scam against Athens.
In November 2024, the city made a scheduled payment for construction of the new fire station on Stimson Avenue. The amount was $721,976.
The fraudsters had gained access to email communications between the city and Pepper and monitored conversations about an upcoming payment. They used a fake email address that closely resembled a legitimate Pepper address to essentially step into that conversation and get the payment made to their bank account.
The city filed a lawsuit within days of discovering the scam and was able to freeze what was left in the bank account. In the process, it was discovered that stolen funds from another cyber fraud victim had been deposited into the same account.
The case ended up in mediation, and the city was able to retrieve $205,000 of the $349,522 that was still in the account. The city also received $200,000 from an insurance claim, bringing the total recovery to $405,000.
On top of this, the city treasurer had invested the bond money used to pay for the new fire station during construction. This investment netted $270,708 that has been added back to the project fund.
The city could recover more funds depending on the outcome of the criminal case.
Chijioke Timothy Odimegwu and Harafat Mogaji were indicted in November by the U.S. attorney for the southern district of Iowa, where the cyber crimes alleged in the indictment occurred. The two were stationed at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware.
The indictment accuses the two men of, among other things, engaging in “business email compromise” fraud. It describes one of the alleged crimes, which involved using a fake email to redirect payment for a construction project in July 2024. The amount in that case was more than $1.6 million.
Athens was notified by the FBI field office in Iowa City that evidence uncovered in their investigation appears to link the Athens cyber theft to cases alleged in the indictment. The city is not named as a victim in that case, but has been told it could be added for purposes of restitution depending on the outcome. The case is scheduled for trial in July unless the defendants plead out before then.
Athens Service-Safety Director Andy Stone noted at a news conference Monday afternoon that less than 0.05% of cyber crimes result in criminal prosecution, according to a World Economic Forum Global Risk Report.
Stone said that according to the Ohio auditor’s office, more than 150 cyber thefts have been committed against political subdivisions in Ohio over the past three years, with losses from a few thousand dollars to more than a million dollars.
In most of those cases there was no recovery beyond insurance, and almost all resulted in no indictments, arrests or prosecutions.
Stone credited the city’s quick action in this case for being able to freeze some of the stolen money before it was transferred to another account or accounts and eventually laundered, which typically is what happens in these cases.
Stone said that since the cyber theft, the city has undergone three forensics investigations into its cyber environment. These resulted in recommendations for updating equipment and improving training and cyber security protocols that the city is implementing.