BISMARCK, N.D. – On April 30, U.S. Atty. Nicholas W. Chase announced that the U.S. Attorney’s Office (USAO) for the District of North Dakota using a civil warrant and working with the FBI, seized $4,856,578.51 in money bilked from Dickinson Public Schools during a business email compromise scheme.
The FBI and USAO traced money fraudulently obtained from Dickinson Public Schools to a Citibank account. On March 27, a civil forfeiture complaint and obtained a federal warrant of arrest in rem, a legal order typically used to seize property in maritime law or asset forfeiture cases, to seize the money located in this account. On April 22, in accordance with the warrant, Citibank produced a check to the U.S. Marshals Service in the amount of the money taken from Dickinson Public Schools.
The USAO is pursuing this case with the goal of obtaining a final judgment for the seized funds and then will request that the Dept. of Justice’s Money Laundering, Narcotics and Forfeiture Section (MNF) remit the money back to Dickinson Public Schools.
“The United States Attorney’s Office is pursuing this ongoing civil forfeiture lawsuit with the ultimate goal of remitting the seized $4,856,578.51 to victims in accordance with Department of Justice policy,” Chase said.
“The FBI remains committed to protecting Americans from scams of all kinds, including business email compromises,” said Special Agent In Charge Christopher Dotson. “We are proud of the work with our law enforcement partners and will continue to investigate and prosecute unscrupulous scam artists. We will also continue to educate the public on ways to avoid becoming a victim.”
The FBI, U.S. Marshals Service, and Dickinson Police Department will continue to investigate the criminal elements of this case, with Asst. U.S. Attys. Jonathan J. O’Konek and AUSA Matthew D. Greenley, who specialize in white collar fraud and located in Bismarck and Fargo, acting for the prosecution.
O’Konek and Greenley also caution North Dakotans to pause before responding to emails. They offer the following advice, “Scammers are successful by relying on time and distance. They attempt to make you act quickly by presenting false or frightening consequences and they can effectively impersonate others by the distance of the internet. When you receive an email asking you: 1) to change how you are making payments; 2) to alter wiring instructions; or 3) for information about your company, stop and contact the party with whom you are doing business. A quick phone call to a supervisor, client, or banker can verify whether you received a legitimate email. Do not allow scammers to use time and distance to make you act quickly. Instead, take a moment to review the email, look for irregularities, and check that the email address is from the person with whom you previously worked. If an email looks suspicious, it most likely is.”
To learn more about how to spot an attempted scam, and what to do if you fall victim, visit the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Internet Crime Complaint Center webpage and review their public service announcements, including the Dec. 19, 2025 alert “Senior U.S. Officials Continue to be Impersonated in Malicious Messaging Campaign.”
Leave a Reply