A 22-year-old Texas man has been arrested in connection with a sophisticated business email compromise scheme that defrauded the Santa Rosa County Clerk of Court & Comptroller’s Office of more than $852,000.
- Mohamed Bakayoko faces first-degree grand theft charges, which carry a potential sentence of up to 30 years in state prison. The Milton Police Department’s Detective Division led the investigation that uncovered Bakayoko’s role as the recipient of fraudulently obtained funds.
Details: The scam involved cybercriminals who impersonated a legitimate vendor using a compromised email account. The fraudsters successfully convinced Clerk of Court personnel to update the vendor’s banking information, resulting in over $850,000 being transferred to a fraudulent account controlled by the suspects.
Once the funds were received, they were quickly moved across multiple financial institutions and withdrawn as cash. However, swift action by investigators led to the freezing of accounts and the recovery of approximately $650,000, which has been returned to the Clerk of Court’s Office.
Digital forensics helped trace the stolen funds directly to Bakayoko. Detective Samuel Ennis obtained an arrest warrant, and the suspect was apprehended without incident through coordinated efforts with the FBI.
Growing Threat
The case highlights the growing threat of business email compromise scams, which have become increasingly sophisticated in targeting government agencies and businesses. The Milton Police Department emphasized the collaborative effort between local detectives, the State Attorney’s Office, and federal investigators in bringing the case to a resolution.
The FBI has identified these scams as one of the most financially damaging types of cybercrime.
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Report fraud or suspicious activity to the Florida Attorney General’s Office:
http://www.myfloridalegal.com/consumer
Fraud Hotline: 1-866-9NO-SCAM (1-866-966-7226) -
Protect yourself from Business Email Compromise scams:
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Always verify payment or banking changes by phone using known contact information.
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Enable multi-factor authentication on email accounts.
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Regularly monitor financial transactions and audit email security.
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Learn more from the FBI’s BEC resource page:
https://www.fbi.gov/scams-and-safety/common-scams-and-crimes/business-email-compromise
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