Montgomery, Alabama – A Florida man has been arrested for his role in a business email compromise scheme that impacted at least four businesses in four different states, including Alabama. Timothy Scott Marable, 50, from Lake Placid, Florida, was arrested last week after being indicted by a federal grand jury in Montgomery, Alabama on two counts of wire fraud.
According to the indictment, a business email compromise scheme is a fraud scheme in which participants gain unauthorized access to a business email account through various means, such as hacking the account or obtaining login information through social engineering. Participants then use the compromised email account to send emails to other businesses posing as a legitimate account holder. Oftentimes, the scheme participants attempt to steal money from email recipients by fraudulently representing that the legitimate account holder had changed banking information and instructing the recipient to make future payments to a new bank account. The new bank account frequently belongs to a participant in the business email compromise scheme, who receives payment obtained by fraud and transfers the proceeds to others involved in the scheme.
The indictment alleges that from November 2019, until August 2020, Marable participated in a business email compromise scheme primarily by receiving fraudulent transfers into bank accounts to which he had signature authority. Throughout to course of the scheme, Marable allegedly received into various bank accounts under his control approximately $2,701,746.50. Companies located in Alabama, Idaho, Ohio, and Texas fell victim to this scheme.
An indictment is merely an allegation that a crime has been committed. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
“In 2021, business email compromises were one of the most widely reported cyber security issues according to IC3.gov,” stated FBI Special Agent in Charge Paul Brown from Mobile, Alabama. “Please report any suspicious activity and assist law enforcement in the struggle to ensure cyber security.”
The case was unsealed today by the United States District Court for the Middle District of Alabama. A date for Marable’s arraignment will be scheduled in the near future.
This case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Alabama, with assistance from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Idaho. The case was investigated by the FBI in Alabama and Idaho. Assistant United States Attorney Stephen K. Moulton is prosecuting the case.