5 indicted in scam targeting agencies in 4 states

A federal grand jury in West Virginia has linked five more people to an international scam that allegedly tricked government agencies in several states into paying at least $3.3 million to bogus companies with names that sounded like legitimate firms. The charges unsealed Tuesday implicate Minnesota residents Michael M. "Mikie" Ochenge, 33; Robert M. "Robe" Otiso, 36; Paramena J. "Joseph" Shikanda, 35; Albert E. Gunga, 30; and Collins A. Masese, 20. Posing as businesses that provide services to state agencies, the conspirators tricked officials between March and July into giving them money owed to the legitimate vendors, the indictment says. They managed to scam $1.2 million from Massachusetts, $919,000 from West Virginia, $869,000 from Kansas and $301,000 from Ohio, the indictment says. The money had been intended for either Deloitte Consulting or Accenture Corp. Posted in: Check Fraud