Man Stole $100 Million From Facebook And Google Just By Sending Them Random Bills

A guy sent emails to Facebook and Google begging them for money, tricking them into giving him over $100 million.

It’s not that simple, but it was a bold and effective way to scam the two tech companies out of $122 million—until he got caught.

Quanta Computer was the name of the computer and electronics hardware manufacturing firm. 

Evaldas Rimasauskas, a Lithuanian, and many other unidentified individuals claimed to be affiliated with it.

Evaldas Rimasauskas fleeced the two tech giants out of $122 million. REUTERS/Alamy Stock Photo

Between 2013 and 2015, Rimasauskas forwarded Quanta Computer billing requests to Google and Facebook, totalling a staggering $23 million for Google and $99 million for Facebook.

Both businesses had previously done business with Qanta Computer, so they coughed up the cash thinking they were paying for authentic services. 

However, the US Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York reports that, in reality, the money was wired to bank accounts controlled by Rimasauskas. 

These accounts were located in Cyprus and Latvia.

Fraudulent contracts, letters, and invoices claiming to be signed by Google and Facebook officials and agents were used by Rimasauskas to justify the enormous inflow of cash into the banks.

The most startling aspect of this scheme, as described by IGN, is that neither firm investigated the accuracy of the bills; instead, they just paid the money.

To be honest, the scammer probably thought it was too good to be true. Before being extradited to New York, Rimasauskas, then 50 years old, was apprehended by Lithuanian authorities in 2017.

The invoices to Google totalled a hefty $23 million. Getty Images

In 2019, he entered a guilty plea to a single charge of wire fraud and was given a 60-month jail term for his criminal plan.

In addition to the sentence, US District Judge George Daniels mandated that Rimasauskas forfeit $49.7 million and serve two years of supervised release. 

Rimasauskas was also required to pay nearly $26.5 million in restitution.

To put it briefly, his house of cards fell apart, but the fact that he got away with it for so long should serve as an unsettling warning to digital businesses about the need for cyber security.

When Rimasauskas was taken into custody, acting US Attorney Joon Kim stated as follows: "This case should serve as a wake-up call to all companies - even the most sophisticated - that they too can be victims of phishing attacks by cybercriminals."

Evaldas Rimasauskas was ultimately caught. Getty Images

"And this arrest should serve as a warning to all cyber criminals that we will work to track them down, wherever they are, to hold them accountable."

"The charges and arrest in this case were made possible thanks to the terrific work of the FBI and the cooperation of the victim companies and their financial institutions."

"We thank the companies and their banks for acting quickly, coming forward promptly, and cooperating with law enforcement; it led not only to the charges announced today but also the recovery of much of the stolen funds."