77 Nigerians implicated in one of largest fraud cases in US history

The United States Department of Justice indicted 80 people, 77 of whom are Nigerians, according to Thom Mrozek, a spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of California.

They are accused of using business email fraud schemes and romance scams to con victims.

Mrozek said many co-conspirators are still in Nigeria, with others also at large in the U.S. and other countries.

"We believe this is one of the largest cases of its kind in US history," United States Attorney for the Central District of California, Nick Hanna, said during a press conference on Thursday.

The Assistant Director in Charge of the Los Angeles Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Paul Delacourt, disclosed that the agency is working with security agencies in nine countries to apprehend 57 defendants.

According to him, the case involves 32 confirmed victims located in the U.S., Japan, the United Kingdom, Lebanon, Ukraine, China, Mexico, Germany, Indonesia, the United Arab Emirates, and Trinidad and Tobago.

"It shows the extensive reach of the cybercriminals involved in this kind of schemes," he said.

The losses in the case, he said, are approximately $10 million.