#51: Real-Life Fraudulent Scheme
Evaldas Rimasauskas executed an audacious fraudulent scheme that shook the tech giants Facebook and Google. Between 2013 and 2015, he masterminded an elaborate plan involving fabricated invoices and fake email correspondence to deceive the companies into transferring vast sums of money. Rimasauskas impersonated a legitimate hardware manufacturer, tricking Facebook into paying him $99 million and Google into transferring $23 million for non-existent goods and services.
It’s actually quite a shock that not many people are aware of this scandalous story. His scheme was only discovered when Google and Facebook employees realized the invoices did not align with their standard payment procedures. In 2017, Rimasauskas was arrested and later extradited to the United States, where he faced charges of wire fraud and money laundering.