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
While all the Sharks were out, Mark Cuban saw the potential in "Garage Celebrations."
13 hours ago
The loss was ironic as the retired teacher coulnd't get a phrase commonly used in classrooms.
15 hours ago
The recalls were issued for a range of products including tires, air conditioners and power banks.
16 hours ago
The guest who got the item as a gift from a neighbor had little to no idea about its significance.
18 hours ago
Harrison got a good deal for the fossil although it wasn't what he had thought.
1 day ago
The player, Beth Barbee left everyone in the dust with her impressive puzzle solving skills.
1 day ago
Given her celebrity status, Harrison cut her some slack in the negotiations.
1 day ago
The deal ultimately fell apart as the seller, Scotty was looking to get $375,000.
2 days ago
The guest was blown away by the six-figure appraisal for his father's John Falter illustration.
2 days ago
Harvey just couldn't believe that the contestant could come up with an answer like that.
3 days ago
Antoinette's win was even more special because she needed a car more than anything at that point.
3 days ago
The player, Catrice Sandt, nearly blew the Bonus Round puzzle by saying too many words in the end.
4 days ago
The co-founders of Nature's Wild Berry left the Sharks in shock with their miraculous product.
4 days ago
The contestant named Whitney could barely control her emotions as she celebrated with Ryan Seacrest.
4 days ago
The player named Kathy Young missed out on the Showcase Showdown as she had to leave.
5 days ago
Harrison closed a mega deal by scooping up three post cards for the price of one.
5 days ago
The guest who brought his father's prized possesion, had already made up his mind.
5 days ago
Harvey got a genius solution to avoid asking an awkward question to Carson Kressley's family member.
6 days ago
The player could barely control her excitement as she had a near-perfect game on the show.
6 days ago
Harrison knew it was too good of a collection to let go, and he decided to raise the stakes.
7 days ago