Inmate extorts health care workers into paying him $15K in phone fraud scheme, feds say
.jpg "A Georgia inmate extorted health care workers into paying him money in a phone fraud scheme, feds say.")
An inmate extorted several health care workers into sending him more than $15,000 over Zelle, PayPal and Venmo as part of a nationwide phone fraud scheme, federal prosecutors said.
Robert “Bo” Nnanwubas, 29, “preyed” on health care employees across the country while incarcerated at Calhoun State Prison in Morgan, Georgia, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington.
Now he’s pleaded guilty in connection with the scheme, the attorney’s office announced in a Dec. 19 news release.
Dennis Carroll, a federal public defender representing Nnanwubas, declined a request for comment from McClatchy News on Dec. 20.
How did the scheme work?
Nnanwubas and other inmates called victims from prison using contraband cellphones and pretended to be a deputy U.S. Marshal threatening them with arrest, court documents say.
A caller, posing as a Marshal, would tell a victim they missed a court appearance after they were subpoenaed to testify in a case — resulting in a warrant issued for their arrest, according to prosecutors.
Nnanwubas and others used a national database to find health care employees and told them that the “subpoena” was issued to their employment address, his plea agreement says.
To “quash” the arrest warrant, the callers demanded victims to send online payments ranging from $500 to $3,500, according to the plea agreement.
In some cases, the callers would “spoof” their phone number so that the call appeared to be from “a legitimate law enforcement agency rather than the actual number the inmate was using,” the plea agreement says.
“The schemers used as many correct details as possible to try to convince the victims to pay,” according to prosecutors.
In March 2022, eight health care workers sent Nnanwubas around $15,000 over Zelle, prosecutors said.
Three more people sent him $5,300 over PayPal and Venmo, according to prosecutors.
At least three people who sent Nnanwubas money over Zelle unsuccessfully tried to report the payments as fraud, the plea agreement says.
Their money ended up in Nnanwubas’ family members and “associates’” bank accounts, according to the plea agreement.
On Dec. 19, Nnanwubas pleaded guilty to conspiracy to impersonate a federal officer, the attorney’s office said in its news release.
As part of his plea agreement, Nnanwubas will pay victims $15,300 in restitution, according to prosecutors.
It’s unclear why individuals working in the health care industry were targeted by Nnanwubas and others, as prosecutors didn’t detail potential motives.
Pediatric health care provider doesn’t fall for the scheme
In March 2022, Nnanwubas “or his co-conspirators” left a voice message for a pediatric health care provider based in Seattle, according to prosecutors and court documents.
The caller identified themselves as “Deputy Marshal Gary Hartnett” and had a “distinct Southern accent,” the plea agreement says.
In another phone call that day, the health care provider was told she “failed to appear as an expert witness in a ‘juvenile case’ in February 2022” and two warrants were issued for her arrest, according to the plea agreement.
The caller said they had served a subpoena at her address of employment and tried to threaten her into paying them $2,000, the court filing says.
When the woman searched the caller’s phone number, it was linked to the U.S. Marshals Service in Seattle, the plea agreement says.
The caller also told the woman she “would have to turn herself in at the federal courthouse at 700 Stewart Street in Seattle,” according to prosecutors.
Ultimately, this health care provider didn’t send the caller money, prosecutors said.
“This case should serve as a reminder that legitimate government workers will not call and demand payment via Zelle, Venmo or some other digital means,” U.S. Attorney Tessa M. Gorman, of the Western District of Washington, said in the news release.
“The Courts and our federal partners do not demand money or any kind of payment in response to a subpoena. If you get a call like this, just hang up,” Gorman added.
Nnanwubas’ sentencing hearing is scheduled for March 12, the attorney’s office said.
Prosecutors are seeking to add eight months in federal prison to Nnanwubas’ state sentence in Georgia, according to the release.
Morgan is about 180 miles southwest of Atlanta.
This story was originally published December 21, 2023 at 7:33 AM with the headline "Inmate extorts health care workers into paying him $15K in phone fraud scheme, feds say."
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