Lehigh physics professor quits, admits role in $1.8 million wire fraud scheme

Chinedu Ekuma reached an important milestone in his academic career when he achieved tenure as a physics professor at Lehigh University last year.

But he was forced to resign five months later when he was charged with participating in a $1.8 million wire fraud scheme.

Now his attorney is fighting to keep him out of prison.

The 45-year-old Catasauqua man is scheduled to be sentenced Thursday in federal court. He admitted to participating in an email and phone scam that bilked victims out of $1.8 million between August 2020 and March 2023. The scammers unsuccessfully attempted to steal an additional $650,000, according to court papers.

Philadelphia attorney Margaret Grasso declined to discuss the case. Her sentencing memorandum says Ekuma didn’t swindle the victims directly, but set up bank accounts and transferred money on behalf of conspirators who remain at large.

Ekuma netted only…

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Cyber fraud uses technology as the primary weapon. It is highly scalable and can be conducted from anywhere in the world.

• Phishing/Smishing/Vishing: Using deceptive emails (phishing), text messages (smishing), or phone calls (vishing) to trick victims into clicking malicious links or revealing sensitive data.
• Business Email Compromise (BEC): A high-value scam where a criminal impersonates a CEO or high-level executive via a “spoofed” email address to trick a staff member into making an urgent, unauthorized wire transfer.