https://www.localmemphis.com/article/news/local/two-texas-men-found-guilty-of-scamming-the-city-of-memphis-out-of-773k/522-01811262-e5c4-43a0-aa0e-1c666c413962

Two men from Texas have been found guilty by a federal jury after they were accused of scamming the City of Memphis out of over $700,000 on April 22, 2025.

Stanley Anyanwu, 41, and Vitalis Anyanwu, 42, were both found guilty on one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, according to a press statement from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Tennessee.

City of Memphis officials received a phishing email in February 2022, causing the city to pay $773,695 to an account that was controlled by a fraud conspiracy.

Officials said the money was lost in an incident with Automated Clearing House, a system used for electronic funds transfer. According to a statement, regular payments are sent to the Zellner Construction company, but the city one day received a request to change account details and then wired $773,000 to that account.

The city later learned the request had come from a scammer pretending to represent Zellner Construction. Once the mistake was realized days later, the city said it was too late to retrieve the funds back.

City officials announced the incident in July 2024.

In an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Stanley and Vitalis Anyanwu were identified as members of the conspiracy, with the two moving money around for the operation.

Investigators also found that members of the same conspiracy were involved in a romance scam, in which victims are convinced to send money by a scammer who poses as a potential friend or lover.

Sentencing for the two is set for July 18, 2025.