Iowa firm Midwest Manufacturing transferred $800,000 to a scammer‑controlled account in mid‑2022, believing the payments were for legitimate vendor invoices. The company reported the theft to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center, but the fraud went undetected for months.
The scheme relied on a classic business‑email‑compromise tactic: attackers masqueraded as trusted vendors and sent forged payment instructions. An employee, unaware of the deception, redirected the funds to an alternate account flagged only by the scammer.
After the initial transfer, the scammers funneled the money through a series of accounts, including a Wells Fargo account belonging to Manuel and Ibrahim Hazim. The Hazims claimed the money came from a currency‑exchange deal, but investigators found no legitimate transaction tied to a Mack truck or procurement.
In a four‑year forfeiture case, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Iowa ordered the forfeiture of $375,000, citing the Hazims’ failure to swear the truth of their claims. The court also noted that the funds were deposited through checks with suspicious references such as “Mack Truck” and “procurement.”
The DOJ’s announcement warned that business‑email‑compromise scams cost more than $55 billion between 2013 and 2023, and urged companies to verify any change in payment details. A small‑town accountant in Iowa, who lost a paycheck in the scam, now advocates for tighter email authentication.