The U.S. State Department offers rewards of up to USD 1.75 million for information that helps catching two Romanians suspected of fraud on the Internet, namely Nicoale Popescu and Dumitru Daniel Bosogioiu.

Popescu, for which the reward is of up to USD 1 million, is the alleged organizer of a cyber-fraud scheme through which he was placing on American e-commerce websites ads selling cars, boats, motorcycles or other expensive items that didn’t exist, according to the U.S. State Department. The victims were asked to transfer money into fraudulent bank accounts, from which they were later sent to the leaders of the organization in Romania.

The conspiracy potentially resulted in millions of dollars in losses for victims in the U.S.. A reward of up to USD 750,000 is offered for information on Bosogioiu, who allegedly participated in the scheme as a key member.

Both Popescu and Bosogioiu are wanted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) on charges including conspiracy to commit substantive crimes - wire fraud, money laundering, passport fraud and trafficking in counterfeit service marks - as well as substantive wire fraud and money laundering charges.

FBI added Popescu to its Cyber's Most Wanted list, on November 18. Launched in 2013, this list highlights the most egregious cyber crimes committed on a global scale. Cyber threats are now considered a top national security threat to the United States.

Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com