New York–Licensed Attorney Sentenced to 39 Months in Business Email Compromise Money Scheme

Published Nov. 6, 2026. Case status is current as of that date.

Business email compromise schemes often need someone with bank access to receive and forward stolen wires. On Feb. 9, 2026, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Texas announced that Bolaji Okunnu, 32, a New York–licensed attorney, had been sentenced to 39 months in federal prison for his role in an identity-theft and BEC scam [1].

Status: Okunnu pleaded guilty Sept. 26, 2025. U.S. District Judge George Hanks also imposed three years of supervised release and ordered restitution of $255,399.47. Co-defendant Amber Bush, 30, was sentenced to 24 months and ordered to pay $1,189,247.02 in restitution [1].

How the scheme worked, according to the court

According to the U.S. Attorney's Office [1]:

1. From 2021 to 2022, Okunnu operated an unlicensed money-transmitting business that received and transmitted funds from a BEC scheme.
2. He recruited others, collected proceeds, and acted as an intermediary for higher-level conspirators; he also directed co-defendants to destroy phone evidence and fabricate explanations for large deposits.
3. As part of his plea, he admitted moving money through accounts he and others controlled that originated from a BEC wire-fraud scheme involving at least four victims, receiving the funds and transmitting them for a fee.

The person sentenced

Bolaji Okunnu, 32. New York–licensed attorney. Pleaded guilty; sentenced to 39 months + 3 years supervised release; restitution $255,399.47 [1].

Red flags for unexpected wire requests

These are general warning signs.

• A lawyer asking you to receive or forward large wires from people you do not know.
• Instructions to delete messages about bank deposits.

What to do

• Do not receive funds for strangers; report BEC attempts to the FBI at ic3.gov.

Case status (as of Nov. 6, 2026)

Defendant	Court	Status	Source
Bolaji Okunnu, 32	U.S. District Court, S.D. Tex. (Judge George Hanks)	Pleaded guilty Sept. 26, 2025; sentenced to 39 months + 3 years supervised release; restitution $255,399.47	[1]
Amber Bush, 30	Same	Pleaded guilty Sept. 25, 2025; sentenced to 24 months + 1 year supervised release; restitution $1,189,247.02	[1]

Statuses can change, including through appeal.

Sources

1. U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of Texas, "Start spreading the news: New York-licensed attorney and accomplice sentenced in large-scale interstate email scam scheme," Feb. 9, 2026. https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdtx/pr/start-spreading-news-new-york-licensed-attorney-and-accomplice-sentenced-large-scale