Skip to main content
Press Release

Lithuanian Man Extradited For Theft Of Over $100 Million In Fraudulent Business Email Compromise Scheme Against Multinational Internet Companies

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of New York

Joon H. Kim, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today that EVALDAS RIMASAUSKAS was extradited from Lithuania.  In March 2017, RIMASAUSKAS was arrested in Lithuania on the basis of a provisional arrest warrant for orchestrating a fraudulent business email compromise scheme that induced two U.S.-based Internet companies to wire more than $100 million to bank accounts controlled by RIMASAUSKAS.  RIMASAUSKAS arrived in the Southern District of New York last night, and will be presented today in Manhattan federal court before the Honorable Barbara Moses, U.S. Magistrate Judge.    

*                *                *

RIMASAUSKAS, 48, of Vilnius, Lithuania, is charged in an Indictment with one count of wire fraud and two counts of money laundering, each of which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, and one count of aggravated identity theft, which carries a mandatory minimum sentence of two years in prison. 

The maximum potential sentences are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the judge. 

Mr. Kim praised the outstanding investigative work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and thanked the Prosecutor General’s Office of the Republic of Lithuania, the Lithuanian Criminal Police Bureau, the Vilnius District Prosecutor’s Office and the Economic Crime Investigation Board of Vilnius County Police Headquarters, the International Assistance Group at the Department of Justice, Canada, and the Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs for their assistance in this matter.

This case is being prosecuted by the Office’s Complex Frauds and Cybercrime Unit.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Eun Young Choi is in charge of the prosecution. 

The charges contained in the Indictment are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

Updated August 17, 2017

Press Release Number: 17-263