Evaldas Rimasauskas, a Lithuanian man, successfully scammed Facebook and Google out of a staggering $122 million by sending them fraudulent invoices between 2013 and 2015. Rimasauskas posed as a legitimate Taiwanese hardware manufacturing company, Quanta Computer, which both tech giants had previously done business with. By sending forged invoices, contracts, and letters that appeared to be signed by executives from the companies, he managed to deceive them into wiring large sums of money to bank accounts he controlled in Latvia and Cyprus.
The scam went unnoticed for years, with Google and Facebook transferring $23 million and $99 million, respectively, without verifying the legitimacy of the invoices. However, in 2017, Rimasauskas was finally caught by Lithuanian authorities and extradited to New York. He pleaded guilty to wire fraud and was sentenced to five years in prison in 2019. In addition to his prison sentence, Rimasauskas was ordered to forfeit $49.7 million and pay nearly $26.5 million in restitution.
The case highlighted the vulnerability of even the most sophisticated companies to phishing attacks and cyber fraud. Acting U.S. Attorney Joon Kim emphasized that the case should serve as a wake-up call to businesses worldwide, reminding them of the importance of cybersecurity measures. The scam also underscored the need for companies to be vigilant in verifying the authenticity of financial transactions, especially when dealing with large sums of money.
Despite the damage caused by the scam, much of the stolen funds were eventually recovered, thanks to the swift action and cooperation of the victim companies and their financial institutions. Rimasauskas’ bold and audacious crime remains one of the most significant examples of corporate fraud in recent history.
