ECONOMY & WORK
MONEY 101
NEWS
PERSONAL FINANCE
NET WORTH
About Us Contact Us Privacy Policy Terms of Use DMCA Opt-out of personalized ads
© Copyright 2023 Market Realist. Market Realist is a registered trademark. All Rights Reserved. People may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.
MARKETREALIST.COM / NEWS

Con artist steals over $100 million from Google and Facebook — all he did was send them random bills

The companies and the world learned a valuable lesson of vetting email IDs before handing out money
UPDATED SEP 14, 2024
Cover image source: Getty Images: South_agency
Cover image source: Getty Images: South_agency

In one of the most creative scams, a Lithuanian man duped Google and Facebook (now Meta) into transferring over $100 million into bank accounts controlled by him and his associates. As per the New York Times, between 2013 and 2015, Evaldas Rimasaukas created email accounts impersonating a company that the tech giants regularly worked with. He and his team then sent fake invoices to extract hefty payments.



 

Rimasaukas was arrested in 2017 and pleaded guilty to wire fraud. The genius scammer is now spending his time behind the bars. 

Prosecutors accused Rimasauskas in 2016 of perpetrating a scheme to scam Facebook and Google by registering a company that impersonated another company. 

While the charges did not name the companies involved, as per CNBC, a Taiwan-based company, Quanta Computer reportedly confirmed that it was the company that Rimasauskas impersonated. Furthermore,  Facebook and Google were named as the victims in a Lithuanian court order in 2017, as per Reuters.

Quanta Computer was a legitimate vendor to Facebook and Google and the two giants conducted business and transactions worth millions regularly with the company. 

As per the court documents, Rimasauskas served as the “sole member of the board of directors” of the fake company. He even used the fake company's name to open and control various bank accounts in Latvia and Cyprus.



 

With the groundwork set, Rimasauskas and his co-conspirators created fake email accounts that looked like those of Quanta Computer. They used those accounts to send fairly convincing forged phishing emails with fake invoices that directed the two companies to pay the sum in the bank accounts controlled by the scammers.

The two tech giants responded by paying up as usual, and the transactions amounted to a total of $100 million. 

Prosecutors alleged that Rimasauskas was involved in the creation of “forged invoices, contracts, and letters all of which appeared to be approved and signed by the agents of Quanta Computer.

Representative image | Getty Images | Photo by Omar Marques
Representative image | Getty Images | Photo by Omar Marques

The scammers also generated fake supporting documents to avoid suspicion from banks. Even details like fake corporate seals embossed with names of Quanta Computer were created, to make it look as legitimate as possible. 

The 2016 indictment mentioned multiple unidentified co-conspirators who helped Rimasaukas pull off the massive fraud. 

While Rimasaukas thought he had covered all his tracks, he was busted by the Lithuanian authorities in March 2017. He was then extradited to the U.S. where he pled guilty.

He was originally charged with five criminal counts including identity theft, money laundering, and wire fraud. However, after entering a plea agreement, four out of five charges were on track to be dismissed,  his lawyer, Paul D. Petrus Jr. told the New York Times.



 

While authorities named Rimasaukas as the mastermind of the scheme, he told the judge, “I was asked to open bank accounts. After that I did not do anything with these accounts," during his plea hearing, Bloomberg reported. 

Under the plea agreement, Rimasaukas agreed to forfeit roughly $49.7 million that he obtained from the scheme. In 2019, he was sentenced to five years in prison, as per an FBI press release. 

Shortly after the detection of the fraud, both Google and Facebook stated that they had recovered the bulk of the stolen funds. “We detected this fraud and promptly alerted the authorities,” a Google spokesperson told CNBC Make It. The official added that the funds were recouped and the "matter was resolved."

Meanwhile, a Facebook spokesperson also told the publication that they had recovered a bulk of the stolen funds and had been cooperating with law enforcement during the investigation.

Editor's note: This article was originally published on July 22, 2022. It has since been updated.

MORE ON MARKET REALIST
According to the expert, personal letters and a signature from Tolkien himself added to the value of the book.
7 hours ago
Chistina and Katie Currie won over $88,000 in cash and two exotic vacations with their stunning performance.
8 hours ago
After everyone backed out, the billionaire Shark stepped up to help the founder of Diaper Dust.
1 day ago
Sun kept repeating the incorrect phrase but couldn't identify the error in time.
1 day ago
After almost closing a deal with Mr Wonderful, the founder of 'Simply Good Jars' pivoted hard.
1 day ago
The host thought it was the "worst possible answer" to give even as the team felt it was good enough.
2 days ago
Adding to the controversy, the owner of Dr. Mudd's lapdesk asked Harrison for $100,000.
2 days ago
With just milliseconds to spare, Sarah LaPilusa pulled off an incredible Bonus Round win.
2 days ago
Ozark Trail 64 oz Water Bottles were recalled after the lids of faulty bottles forcefully ejected.
3 days ago
The player laughed and giggled her way through the puzzles to win prizes worth over $57,000.
3 days ago
Scott Riccardi placed an unbelievable wager during Final Jeopardy! to win a massive amount in a day!
3 days ago
The guest got a 200% return on investment on her sculpture that she bought from Macy's.
3 days ago
Jennings had a record-setting winning streak as a contestant before he became the host.
4 days ago
The player, Ron Wheeler, tragically got no clues after his letter picks for the final puzzle.
4 days ago
The former kids champion, Skyler Hornback knew what was coming.
4 days ago
The fans took issue with the clue being too tough and unnecessary for the contestants.
5 days ago
Cuban wanted to strike a deal with the founder of Coconut Girl and gave her an ultimatum.
5 days ago
Although the word did make a lot of difference, some fans felt that the decision was ridiculous.
5 days ago
The guest, who found the item online, didn't think it was the real deal until he heard its value.
6 days ago
The player Samantha secured the first big win of Ryan Seacrest's run on the show.
6 days ago