‘We’re in deep ...’: Men posing as nonprofit scam $1.5 million from California county, officials say

Two men who allegedly posed as a local nonprofit to scam Fresno County out of $1.5 million in 2020 were charged Thursday in a federal indictment.

Jafaar September Nyangoro, 52, of Franklin, Tenn., and Peter Bah Acha, 45, of Berlin were charged with wire fraud and a conspiracy to commit wire fraud related to a scheme to defraud Fresno County, according to a statement by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of California.

Court documents allege that the men and other unnamed people gained access to an email account used by the director of a Fresno nonprofit in 2020. They used the email address to submit fraudulent invoices to Fresno County and solicit payments to a bank account they controlled, the statement said.

Over several weeks in the fall of 2020, the county sent payments totaling more than $1.5 million to Nyangoro’s bank account, according to the Justice Department.

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Three days after the final payment, a bank involved in the transactions reversed several transfers due to suspected fraud, prosecutors allege. Realizing the scheme had been uncovered, Nyangoro sent a WhatsApp message to a group including Acha and others: “We’re in deep s—,” according to prosecutors. “The last 3 transactions from County of Fresno have been reversed. Please call me ASAP!”

Nyangoro has been detained in Tennessee and is expected to appear in Fresno to face charges.

If convicted, he and Acha would face a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison as well as a fine of up to $250,000 for each count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and wire fraud.